Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Southmoreland’s Skylar Koshar

By: Anthony Difilippo
Monday, October 17, 2022 | 10:50 AM

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Many athletes say the best part of high school sports is making memories with your team and remembering the fun nights along the way.

That was the case for then-junior and current senior Skylar Koshar with last year’s Southmoreland girls soccer team.

The Scotties made program history when they not only reached the WPIAL semifinals but also the state quarterfinals.

Koshar said the win over Shady Side Academy to claim third place in the WPIAL and advance to states was a memorable night for her.

“Once we won (against) Shady Side, we all cheered that we were going to states,” Koshar said. “When we were pulling up to the high school, all of our parents were outside and beeping their car horns and cheering.”

This season, Southmoreland is 8-2-1 overall and 5-2-1 in section play.

They got some bad news when senior goal scorer Olivia Cernuto suffered a season-ending right knee injury on Sept. 12 against Yough.

The absence of Cernuto, who had 100 career goals with the Scotties, left a big hole in the lineup.

“We’re trying to fill in spots, testing out what’s working,” Koshar said. “We’re all just doing our best to keep fighting, trying to stay motivated and stay positive and find ways to win.”

Koshar is listed as a defender on the team, more specifically a center defender, and she explained exactly what her role is on the defense.

“I am in a line of four, and I am at the center, the left-center defender,” Koshar said. “My role is to protect the goal, and I have to shift with my defense, and I have to talk with them.”

Southmoreland has allowed only 10 goals in 11 games played this season.

Koshar plans on attending the Pitt-Greensburg next year to study business management.

This week, Koshar took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with soccer?

The Scottdale Soccer Club is a few streets away from my house. When I was a kid, my mom and I would bike, and we would pass the field and I would see kids my age playing soccer. I kind of got interested that way because I wanted to play with them.

What’s the secret to the defense’s success?

Definitely communication. Whenever I’m stepping up, I’ve got to tell the rest of my line to cover immediately, and whenever they’re stepping up, I have to let them know that I’m covering them. It’s more so just helping each other out, if a ball does get past us, to jailbreak to protect our goal. Yeah, I think communication is our secret, just constant communication.

What do you feel like your biggest strength is?

My biggest strength would probably be stepping to the ball and gaining possession back for my team. I get it back for my offense and help them connect.

Is there an area where you could improve?

Definitely balls out of the air, because they’re extremely unpredictable. Sometimes I can perfectly stop the ball and move it forward, and there are other times where you just can’t judge it right. I misjudge it, and I miss the ball completely. It can be a major setback if I miss the ball because I’m the last line of defense. I would love to be able to control the ball a little better.

What is one thing that people may not know about you?

I work at an auto detail. I work on cars. I detail cars. I clean them. It’s called Hanson’s Auto Detail, and I worked there in the summer.

What made you get into that?

My boss is my neighbor, and he needed some help. He showed me what to do, and I definitely excel at hands-on hard work. I knew it was going to be a perfect fit for me, and I’ve been doing it since I was 14.

Tags: Southmoreland