CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The worst place you could find yourself on a soccer field, is defending Taylor Suarez 1-v-1.
"She's nasty," Ardrey Kell H.S. coach Kim Montgomery said. "Just literally breaking ankles."
The rising senior has a pure attacking and scoring mentality.
"The feeling I get when I beat someone going 1-v-1 or I break someone's ankles," Suarez said, "I just love that feeling."
Suarez could be the best we've ever seen in this area.
She's the two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina.
This year she scored 36 goals and collected 33 assists, all in just 28 games.
For her career, she has 73 goals and 59 assists.
"Her talent level, her ability to take 1 on 1, her ability to create things," Montgomery said, "it's the best I've ever coached. It's the best I've ever seen."
This year, Suarez helped Ardrey Kell to its first-ever state championship.
"I remember turning to the bench and putting my hands up in the air," Suarez said, "and just seeing everyone storming the field. It was just incredible."
Suarez is from a family of baseball players, but early on, it was clear what her future was.
"Ever since I was four years old, I never wanted to put that (soccer) ball down," she said.
As Suarez grew older the goals got bigger and bigger.
In 2021 she made the United States Youth National Team, competing in the Under 17 World Cup.
"It's the best feeling," Suarez said. "It's why you love to play the game."
Montgomery, who was part of the U.S. Women's National Team herself, knows Suarez has what it takes to someday play on these World Cup and Olympic squads.
"She is on such a great track," Montgomery said. "It's a fast track. The sky is the limit for her."
So as we watch this year's World Cup team, know that we might be watching Taylor Suarez on that stage someday.
"Watching them and knowing that that's somewhere I want to be one day, it's inspiring," Suarez said, "but also makes me want to work harder at the same time."
Suarez is committed to play at Florida State University and will graduate from AKHS early, skipping her senior year of high school soccer and enrolling early in Tallahassee.
Her next step in the national system is to try for selection to the U-18/U-19 rosters.