With Haley Kostorick back, Shaler girls soccer has new enthusiasm

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, September 25, 2022 | 11:01 AM

A year off has served Shaler soccer player Haley Kostorick well.

Reinvigorated by time off to focus on basketball, the Clarion commit decided she wanted to give soccer another go during her senior season.

“It was a last-minute decision,” Kostorick said. “I went up to Clarion, loved it there and committed. Then I decided I had one last year to play soccer because this is my last opportunity to do something I played as a kid. I had one more year to go out and try it.”

While the senior never expected Shaler to challenge for the WPIAL title, she wanted to help the Titans show progress. So far, despite a recent slide, the Titans have accomplished that.

Shaler is 2-6-1 overall with a 1-5 record in Section 1-4A play. Last season, the Titans didn’t win a section game and finished 3-10.

Shaler won its first section game this season, a 2-1 win over Allderdice, before the calendar even flipped over to September.

Snapping the losing streak in section came in dramatic fashion. Shaler went ahead 1-0 in the first half on a goal by Lexi Tylenda. The Dragons tied the game in the second half to send it to overtime.

Following several key stops by goalkeeper Catie Jordan, Tylenda scored again to give Shaler the win.

“It was a change of momentum from last year,” Kostorick said. “Winning a section game changed the momentum of the team.”

Shaler has also played a role in helping opponents on the field. Kostorick, who played cup soccer with Seneca Valley goalkeeper Ginny Frock, helped organize a fundraiser for her former teammate.

Frock was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma earlier this year and Kostorick helped the team buy T-shirts to support Frock and organized a 50-50 with the donations going toward the cause.

Kostorick believes in using sports to help others.

“I had never done a fundraiser before, but my basketball coach does a Black Lives Matter event every year,” Kostorick said. “Shaler coach Cornelious Nesbit runs it. It’s more than just a game. There’s always something bigger to accomplish.”

Shaler is hoping to continue to show improvement as the season moves toward its conclusion. The Titans have lost their last three section games by a combined score of 22-0. The results of a game against Pine-Richland last Thursday were too late for this edition.

Shaler wants to continue marching forward.

“I think a success would be getting two more wins in the section,” Kostorick said. “We want to finish strong in the last few games and get everyone on the right foot going into the offseason for the future.”

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