WSL Texas Girls Player of the Year

By James Joseph
WSL Senior Features Writer

In 2009, Hockaday School had the always tough task of defending a state title.

Making matters even more difficult, the Daisies had to do it without the coach who guided them to the 2008 crown and a talented and large class of seniors that helped make it possible.

What Hockaday did have, however, was Taylor Thornton.

The senior midfielder helped provide a bridge between coaches, leadership for young players and – of course – plenty of on-field heroics. Thornton piled up an astounding 79 goals, 23 assists and 52 ground balls and won 91 draws to lead Hockaday to a 21-1 record and its second straight title.

And for the second straight year, the Northwestern-bound Thornton is WSL’s Texas Girls Player of the Year.

“I would definitely say this was a very big transition year,” said Thornton, who had 127 goals during the Daisies’ back-to-back state-title runs.

“Last year we graduated a huge senior class. We lost Patty Wick as coach, and we had to adjust to a new coach. We had a very young team and a very new team. But we exceeded all expectations.”

Thornton boasts strong one-on-one defensive skills and speed that allows her to disrupt opponents’ fast breaks. Offensively, she created space for her lethal shot. And she helped Hockaday dominate the possession battle with her work on draw controls.

“I think I see the field very well and I play hard – I play determined and fast,” said Thornton, when asked what were the strongest parts of her game. “I feel like I love the whole team aspect of the game. I’m a team player.”

That was especially important this year when she had to be more of a leader.

“I wanted to set an example every time I came off the field after practice so (younger players) knew they could come to me for anything,” Thornton said. “I wanted to set a positive example.”