Prevailing in the time of Covid: Pleasantville’s Katie Moses

by Warren Rosenberg - MetroSports Magazine December 29, 2020

2020 was a year that wreaked havoc on the NY Metro area sports scene leading to serious disruptions or full cancellations of major league sports, NCAA sports, high school and club sports and the cessation of events at Yankee Stadium and City Field, Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center, the Nassau Coliseum, Newark’s Prudential Center and the Westchester County Center among others.

In an article published on December 26, 2020, the online publication “Soccer Today: Voice of American Soccer” summed up the tumultuous year that 2020 has been by noting that, “The soccer world continues to be massively impacted on all levels, from youth soccer to the professional game, by the Coronavirus COVID-19.”

To keep up with the Covid-related disruptions, MetroSports Magazine turned to coverage of the NBA2K online gaming to follow the New York Knicks eSports team, the FIA’s virtual New York City ePrix race to replace the scheduled Formula E race on the Brooklyn waterfront, and the movement of Olympic Weighlifter Alexis Jones from her training site at Downstate Crossfit to her home garage.

In the midst of all of this turmoil there were notable success stories. The West Point Football team recaptured the Commander-in-Chief Trophy, in part with home field wins in December against Navy and Air Force. On December 12th Vanderbilt University soccer player, Sarah Fuller, became the first woman to score in an NCAA Division I Power 5 Conference Football game and, more locally, Ossining High School graduate, Obi Toppin, was drafted by the New York Knicks, Rye Neck High School graduate Kristina Esposito won the National Auto Sports Association’s “One Last Chance" North East 2020 trophy at the New Jersey Motorsports Park and the Formula and Automobile Racing Association’s Enduro Championship Trophy at Homestead Miami Speedway, and Pleasantville High School senior soccer player, Katie Moses, was named Player of the Year by the New York State Sportswriters and Coaches for Girls Sports as well as earning 1st Team All State honors.

For those who follow Pleasantville High School sports, this December 14th announcement came as little surprise. Moses has a history of racking up commendations having been designated a three-time High School All Section athlete (2018, 2019, 2020), High School All State 2nd Team athlete (2019) and High School All Section Honorable Mention as a 9th grader in 2017. Pleasantville High School Coach, Chris Osterhoudt, told MetroSports Magazine, "I am so proud of all of her accomplishments, as well as the teams. It has been an honor to have coached a great young woman these past 4 years.” And like Coach Osterhoudt, Katie also gave credit to her teammates and to the coaching staff, telling MetroSports Magazine, “My teammates and coaches have pushed me to be the best player I can be and I feel like my work payed off coming out of my last season as a captain with only one loss, winning all league, all section and player of the year.”

Above: Katie Moses (#24) on the field and in control (Photo courtesy Chrissy Moses)

That Katie’s talents were broadly recognized by many who saw her play, both with her and against her was evident when she told us that, “my coach told me that when they put my name up for the award that all the coaches from my league immediately agreed that I should get the award. That meant a lot knowing that coaches of rival teams and teams we have beat believed I deserve the award. Player of the year is something I strived for this year and pushed myself to work for and it feels amazing to have won it.”

Above: Being interviewed by News 12 Westchester (Photo courtesy Chrissy Moses)

As with many highly competitive high school athletes, competing for their school team is only part of the commitment to their sport and something that college coaches take notice of. “I play for New York Soccer Club, my club team, and I have been with that club for 5 years. I am playing in college too. I will be playing D3 soccer but I can't name the school yet because I only verbally committed to the team and still have to get through the admissions process.” Subsequent to this interview, we learned that Katie has been accepted to Hamilton College where she will play on the women’s soccer team. We expect that Hamilton, which went 10-5-1 overall for the 2019-2020 season and 5-4-1 in the NESCAC Conference, will benefit from Katie’s presence and prowess on the field.

This gracious young lady closed our interview with, “thank you so much for asking me these questions and thinking of me for your article.” It was our pleasure.