She’s the last line of defense between the opposing team and the goal. She wears number one for the Pahrump Valley Trojans. She’s the starting goalkeeper for her varsity soccer team. Her name is Avery Moore.
Moore started playing soccer at a very young age. At just four years old, she joined her first team in the local AYSO soccer league. From the very moment she started playing, Moore loved soccer and her feelings for the sport have grown ever since.
“Definitely, as a young kid I loved the sport,” Moore said. “As I got older, it just became something that I truly enjoy playing and I love it.”
Even though Moore plays the position of goalkeeper now, it wasn’t her first position. When she first started playing soccer, Moore would play mostly in the field. However, once she reached the age when goalies started becoming important, she was put into the position by her coach and instantly fell in love with it.
Protecting the goal and knowing that it all comes down to her is what drives Avery and it gives her a sort of adrenaline rush while she’s on the field.
Growing up, one of her biggest idols at her position was Hope Solo. Solo led the U.S. Women’s national team to many major tournament wins, including a World Cup gold medal in the 2015 tournament and back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2014.
“There definitely have been older people I’ve seen on TV or something that I’ve noticed,” Moore said. “I grew to want to be like them, train like them and just wanted to play the sport like them. When Hope Solo was still the keeper, I always wanted to be like her and I strive to be like her.”
As a sophomore, Avery is now in her second season as the starting goalkeeper for the varsity soccer team. During the shortened season in her freshman year, Moore made all eight starts for the Trojans, amassing a record of 4-3-1.
Moore stated that she knew going into the season as a freshman there were some responsibilities and expectations that she had to live up to. She was excited for the challenge and wanted to be able to give her coach the reassurance that she had made the right decision by putting Avery in net.
Now, in her second season on the team, Moore has helped lead the Trojans to a division best record of 14-1 in the regular season, as well as the No. 1 3A school in Nevada, and the top spot in the 3A state playoffs.
The season started off a little rocky with PVHS opening the season with a 6-0 loss against Faith Lutheran, who is a 5A school, compared to the 3A school of Pahrump. This is the only loss of the season for the Trojans. However, Moore mentioned that the team has grown tremendously since the beginning of the season.
“I have definitely seen a difference,” Moore said. “Getting into these positions that our coach put us in, we definitely have figured out how each person works in their particular spots. You just learn toconnect with each other and you end up knowing your team better, which makes you a better team.”
She has a state best 12 shutouts for the season and hasn’t allowed a goal since Oct. 8, which was a penalty kick during Pahrump’s game against SLAM Nevada.
Much like the rest of her teammates, Moore was very excited to hear that the soccer state tournament was going to be played at Pahrump Valley High School.
“It was a shock,” Avery said. “I was definitely excited because we didn’t have to travel as much. We’re playing on our home field and we know that field very well. It’s exciting for all of the families to come out and watch. When we make it to state, it’s going to be a really good game because we’re at our home.”
The Trojans are currently going through the regional rounds of the 3A soccer playoffs. They cruised to victory in their first-round matchup against the Yetis from Equipo Academy by a score of 8-0. PVHS was able to shut out Equipo Academy in all three of their matchups this year and outscored them by a combined score of 25-0.
By the time this comes out, the Trojans will have played the Virgin Valley Bulldogs in the second round of the playoffs on Thursday. With a win, they will have clinched their spot in the state tournament for next Friday and will be playing in the Regional Championship game on Saturday, Nov. 6, at Bettye Wilson complex in Las Vegas.
Once the season is over, Avery plans to play basketball for the high school and fine tune her soccer skills as well. She’s hoping to train every day, even if it’s just minor training. Moore mentioned that being able to keep her touch on the ball during the offseason is very important so that her playing abilities don’t slip.