Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League

Alma Mater: Seneca Valley, 2023 | Sport: Soccer

In July of 2022, Seneca Valley goalkeeper Virginia Fronk committed to play soccer at George Mason University. One month later, on the first day of soccer tryouts, she was rushed to the emergency room and had gone into severe sepsis. Fronk was stabilized and transferred by ambulance to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and after several days of tests, biopsies, and scans, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Deciding to have a “port” surgically placed under her skin directly connected to an artery leading to her heart, this allowed her to receive chemotherapy and provide blood draws and gave her the possibility of returning to the pitch depending where she was within her chemotherapy cycle. Fronk began chemotherapy on what would have been her first day of school, and ultimately was able to rejoin the team and played in four contests as the Raiders made the WPIAL semifinals. Her teammates supported her through her fight, hosting a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Night at a home game that raised $17,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. An All-Section pick in 2021, Fronk made the PrepSoccer All-America and TribHSSN WPIAL Players watch lists prior to her senior season, and was selected to participate in the United States Youth National Team Identification Center. She became a member of the National Honor Society in 2022, and plans to major in environmental science at George Mason while playing for the soccer team.