KARNS CITY — Scoring goals wasn't enough.

Gathering wins took precedent.

So Karns City senior Dakota King changed his game — and the Gremlins changed their postseason soccer fortunes.

“Dakota was always focused on scoring goals — and that was important,” KC coach Jim Grenninger said. “This year, we needed him to come back toward the middle, help prevent goals and help us win that way.

“His play in the middle of the field made a big difference.”

King still found the net quite often. His 26 goals led the team and he contributed seven assists. Good friend Owen Collwell, a senior midfielder, tallied 13 goals and 18 assists.

King finished his KC soccer career as one of only three Gremlin boys soccer players to eclipse 100 goals. Spenser Myers is the program's all-time leader with 164. King scored 126, Ryan Parker 113.

“My dad (KC junior high coach Roger King), since I was young, imbedded in my mind to put the ball in the net,” King said. “I've always been a goal scorer.”

He netted 24 goals his freshman season, 27 as a sophomore and exploded for 49 his junior year.

For his efforts this season, King was named the Upper Allegheny Valley Soccer League South Division's Outstanding Player of the Year.

“His freshman year, we had just lost a bunch of goals in Spenser Myers, Noah Pollock, Jayce Ebbitt from the year before ... they probably combined to score 130,” Grenninger said. “We needed Dakota to fill some of that void and he did that.”

Each of King's first three seasons ended with the Gremlins tasting defeat in the District 9 championship game. This year, they edged Punxsutawney, 1-0, to claim the district crown.

Primarily a forward, King dropped back to midfield for a few games this season.

“We needed him in that part of the field,” Grenninger said. “We lost a few players for a while to COVID tracing and had to adjust.

“Dakota's overall team game was a big key to those playoff wins. We won two or three 1-0 games in a row.”

Karns City also defeated Bedford, 1-0, before falling to Deer Lakes, 2-0, in PIAA Tournament play. The Gremlins finished the season at 13-2-1.

“It felt good to break through and win one (district title), especially in my senior year with good friends I've been playing soccer with for years,” King said.

While he hasn't officially made his collegiate choice yet, he is strongly leaning toward Thiel College. La Roche and Villanova are in the mix as well.

King will be entering his fourth year of playing for L.C. Select club soccer. That team is coached by Zack Walters, a Thiel assistant coach.

King plans to major in environmental studies with a minor in sports management.

“I want to coach soccer someday. What level doesn't really matter. I just want to stay involved in the sport,” he said.

He wants to play the sport for a long time as well.

“Four years of college, then semi-pro soccer and hopefully professional soccer,” he said. “I'm going to try to play the game as long as I can.”

In the meantime, he's leaving behind a solid legacy at Karns City.

“Years from now, it's going to be cool to look back and be able to say I graduated as the No. 2 all-time leading scorer at my high school,” King admitted. “Yeah, that's something I'm definitely proud of.”