Freeport graduate and Pitt-Johnstown senior Kim Mixon recently concluded her soccer career in an abbreviated spring season. Mixon was grateful to have at least some closure.

Kim Mixon watched the final seconds tick down.

Five.

Four.

Three.

It then began to hit the Freeport graduate and the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown senior midfielder.

Two.

One.

Her career on the soccer pitch was over.

“That last game,” Mixon said, “I was definitely an emotional wreck when the buzzer went off, that's for sure.”

Mixon accomplished a lot on that 120-yard field throughout her soccer journey, even though she didn't start playing the sport until the relatively ripe old age of 9 when she moved to Freeport.

Mixon was a star for the Yellowjackets on defense. So good at her job, she was a four-year letterwinner, three-time captain, two-time team MVP and three-time defensive MVP.

She also received WPIAL and PIAA recognition for her ability to stonewall the opposition.

But when she got to Division II Pitt-Johnstown, she made a position change to defensive midfielder.

“I remember coming in freshman year and we all have this fitness test,” Mixon said. “I think the coaches saw that I had the stamina and skill set to move up and be a defensive-mid.

“I just wanted to help the team any way I could, so of course, I agreed.”

Mixon took to her new position well, blending her defensive ability and relentlessness to help the Mountain Cats build and improve each year.

The 2020 season was supposed to be “the year” for Pitt-Johnstown. It was expected to be the campaign when the Mountain Cats took the next step and contended for a PSAC playoff spot and championship.The coronavirus pandemic stripped that away.Mixon and Pitt-Johnstown did manage to play five games this spring, the last a 2-0 win over Slippery Rock University in late April.Mixon was grateful to at least get a handful of games for closure.“For any athlete ending a sport is bittersweet,” Mixon said. “But not having a full season was tough, especially knowing what we were capable of. It was a little depressing.“At the same time, I can't be conceited because we got to play those five games compared to other teams that didn't get a chance to play any, like our men's soccer team here. They didn't get a single game,” Mixon added. “I'm definitely thankful to have had that experience, even if it was shortened.”Mixon has a year of eligibility left and even pondered using it.She toyed with the idea of enrolling in graduate school after receiving her degree from Pitt-Johnstown in early childhood education/special education.Instead, she decided to just move on, as difficult as it was.“I contemplated it for a bit,” Mixon said. “But I think it was definitely time.”Mixon is currently a substitute teacher in the Fox Chapel School District while she searches for full-time teaching job.She said one day she'd love to coach a sport in the prep level.She'll have her choice. As well as soccer, Mixon was also a standout in track and field and basketball at Freeport.In college, she helped coach eight- and nine-year-old soccer teams at Kiski. She also coached children with disabilities there.“That was a great experience in itself,” Mixon said. “That's something I look forward to getting back into. I would definitely love in the near future to coach, maybe even a high school or middle school team, carry on that path and see that those girls and boys succeed as well.”

Freeport graduate and Pitt-Johnstown senior Kim Mixon didn't start playing soccer until she was 9, but made a huge impact with the Yellowjackets as a defender and then in college for the Mountain Cats at midfield.