FREEPORT — When the final second ticked off the clock on the Freeport girls soccer season this fall, senior center-midfielder Olivia Gaspersic immediately felt a void.

She had planned on not playing soccer beyond high school.

That quickly changed.

She craved more time on the soccer pitch.

“I was very upset when we lost our final game,” Gaspersic said. “I didn’t want it to be over.”

So she put the word out that she was interested in playing in college and a few schools came calling.

Her teammate with the Yellowjackets, senior Kim Mixon, had already committed to the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and told her to check out the school.

It ended up being a perfect match for Gaspersic and she accepted an athletic scholarship to Pitt Johnston recently.

“It kind of came out of nowhere. It’s just super exciting,” Gaspersic said. “Plus, I’ll know a face there. We work well together.”

That was proven with the Yellowjackets over their four years in the program.

No year was more successful than this past one when Freeport advanced to the WPIAL championship game and won a state playoff game.

Gaspersic, a four-year starter, scored eight goals and added 12 assists for the Yellowjackets as a senior.

She led the team in assists for three straight seasons and received all-section and all-WPIAL honors.

She shared the team MVP with Mixon.

“She’s such a tough player,” said Freeport coach Brittni Grenninger. “She’s very resilient and she was the quarterback of the team. Her ball skills are unbelievable and she sees the field so well.”

Gaspersic has been playing soccer since she was 5. Early in her playing days, she dabbled with other positions, but center-mid was where she felt most comfortable.

She said she’s always been offensive-minded.

“I just love the feeling you get when you score,” Gaspersic said. “There’s just really nothing like it.”

Gaspersic gets the same thrill when she makes a perfect pass to set up someone else for a goal.

“To me, the feeling is no different,” she said. “Putting the ball in the net is what’s important. It doesn’t matter whose foot it comes off of.”

Gaspersic’s senior season didn’t go smoothly as she battled a knee injury at the end of the season.

In the middle of October in a match against rival Highlands, she twisted her left knee in the first half but played through the pain.

“That probably wasn’t the smartest of me,” she said, laughing. “Every time I moved, I heard it popping.”

Gaspersic feared the worst, but tests revealed it was just a sprain of the MCL and it wouldn’t require surgery.

It did put a damper on Senior Night.

But Gaspersic was allowed to start and touch the ball at the beginning of the match before leaving the field.

It was a special moment, even though she couldn’t play.

“All my family was there and they were cheering,” Gaspersic said. “It was nice. I got to touch the ball, then I had to wobble off the field.”

Gaspersic battled through the injury during the playoff run. She was slowed by the pain and a bulky brace.

It was less cumbersome, at least, than the original brace her doctor wanted her to wear.

“I told the doctor, ‘Hey, it’s my senior year. I need to play,’” Gaspersic said. “There was no way I could play with the first brace, so he gave me a smaller one. It still slowed me down.”

When the pain got too intense, she had to exit the match.

“It was really hard at first,” she said. “But I battled through it. I just wanted to be out there.”

Grenninger said she is thrilled that two of her players are going to the same school to continue their soccer careers.

She also said producing college players can only help the future of the program.

“As a program, I don’t know if you can measure what it’ll do,” Grenninger said.

Gaspersic said she’s going to seize her time on the soccer pitch in college in the same way she did in high school.

“It’s probably going to be a lot faster and there will be a lot more competition,” Gaspersic said. “I’m really looking forward to that.”