There’s a covered up hole in the Moorehead household’s living room wall.
It’s from Hart High girls soccer’s Taylor Moorehead. She used to play soccer with her older brother, Andrew, in the room. A very competitive activity.
Taylor’s father, Charlie can recall an occasion where things got a bit out of hand.
“They would both get so mad at each other that he would get a little too physical with (Taylor) and he would actually push her into the wall,” he says.
The result was a hole in the wall and a much tougher Taylor.
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“The way (Andrew) bodies me off the ball and stuff, it’s a great experience for those bigger and faster girls out there that are on the other team,” Moorehead says. “It really helps me with my physicality and helping me get better against other teams so we can win.”
At one point in time, all of the furniture was removed from the Moorehead household’s living room.
The area once reserved for relaxing had transformed into a soccer arena for Taylor and Andrew.
“There’s several holes in the wall because of soccer,” Taylor says. “We had to move around all the furniture just to have us play.
“And sometimes we’d tie in soccer, so we have a ping pong table in a game room, so we’d have to take it to ping pong to settle the score. It got really competitive.”
As she grew as a player, she learned how to turn her determination against her brother, who is now 21, into the need to win on the field.
“She would cry because she lost. She would never cry because she got hurt,” says Charlie.
Moorehead now leads Hart in goals with eight and is tied for assists with five. She’s led the varsity team in assists since her freshman year and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Once a pure striker, Moorehead transitioned from the forward position to center mid after two players were injured for Hart’s game against Simi Valley.
“She had to play a different role that she never actually played,” says Hart coach Guilherme Mitrovitch. “She’s more of a complete player than what she was in her first year or second year. I know if there’s a need she can get the job done. That shows her versatility and her growth as a player.”
She also is an ambidextrous shooter, which creates more scoring and passing options. She’s working on her first touch and increasing headers this year.
Physical play and fearlessness, however, are something that she has had down pact since her living room soccer days.
“You can tell that she has that goal scoring mentality. That she’s always going to push for you,” says Mitrovitch. “She’s always going to fight.”
