Kiski Area grad Alexis Moyer becomes Clarion soccer's 1st 4-time all-conference honoree

In five seasons as a member of the Clarion women’s soccer team, Kiski Area grad Alexis Moyer experienced:

• being switched to a position she never played

• three coaching changes

• a season lost to a pandemic

• a grand total of 17 wins

The ride was bumpy at times, to be sure, but Moyer persevered. Check that: She didn’t just persevere. She excelled.

Consider that she:

• became a starter immediately as a freshman

• started all 73 matches in which she appeared

• earned a spot in program history by becoming its first four-time all-conference honoree

Moyer admitted it hasn’t fully hit her that her soccer playing days are over. That might come in the spring, she said, when the players begin preparing for the 2023 season and she won’t be with them.

“I don’t even know how to put this in words,” she said. “It’s been a very memorable experience. I have met some of my closest friends as teammates. I can’t believe it was five years. It feels like it flew by so fast. It’s been a crazy experience. I can’t believe it’s all over.

“It was a great experience. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Moyer came to the program as someone who was used to playing an attacking role. But then-coach Sean Esterhuizen said he envisioned her as an outside back, so she made the switch to defense.

Despite her initial trepidation, the move worked out well. She was among the nominees for PSAC Freshman of the Year and earned third-team all-conference honors, making her the first true freshman in program history to receive that distinction. (Clarion women’s soccer played its inaugural season in 2001.)

Her attacking mentality hadn’t left her, though. She scored a goal that season, which turned out to be the only one in her college career.

She did tally four career assists, including two this season. That helped her to earn second-team all-PSAC honors this fall, capping her run of four straight all-conference appearances, including first-team in 2021.

“I’m not one to look at stats and points and stuff like that,” she said. “I just go out there and play, and whatever happens at the end of the season happens at the end of the season. It was an honor to get (all-conference) every single year, but I didn’t think that would go down in Clarion history.”

But there were travails, too. Moyer admitted the constant coaching changes were difficult. There were times when the team was in between coaches that the players had to be accountable for their own offseason conditioning and practices.

The coaching instability also made victories scarce. The Golden Eagles never won more than five matches in a season during Moyer’s stay.

Still, there were a few highlights, including one Moyer can rattle off without having to think too hard: Oct. 9, 2021. That day, Clarion defeated No. 23 Slippery Rock, 2-1, marking the first time in program history the Golden Eagles had beaten SRU.

Moyer, of course, started that match and played all 90 minutes.

While the end of her playing career continues to sink in, Moyer already has an eye on her future. She minored in coaching and one day hopes to work as an athletic trainer and as a high school soccer coach. She is considering grad school at Clarion in the meantime.

As for Moyer’s legacy at Clarion, it might not be a stretch to say she is the best player in program history. Moyer said that is something she never considered. She is content simply knowing she gave her all for the team.

“I played like I wasn’t expected to start every game,” she said. “I practiced hard, made sure I was the best one in that position, and if I wasn’t the best in that position, that’s fine. I wanted to do what was best for the team.

“I want people to remember me as fun, a great, hard worker and having your back no matter what.”