Melissa Moore (soccer)

Born Melissa Liston in Van Nuys, she attended Bonita High School in La Verne, California.[7][8] She initially joined the Bonita varsity soccer team as a freshman midfielder, but switched to goalkeeper from her sophomore year onward.[4] In February 1993, she was named to PARADE's All-America High School Girls Soccer Team.[8] In addition to soccer, she played volleyball, swam, ran track, and played badminton.[4]

She graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in psychology,[4][9] and earned a master's degree in athletic administration at Illinois State University.[9] At Illinois State, she worked as a graduate assistant coach for the women's soccer team.[4]

In 1993, Liston signed with the University of New Mexico Lobos women's soccer team as its first varsity recruit.[7] She was recruited by head coach Amy Allmann, a former player with the United States women's national soccer team (USWNT).[7]

During UNM's first season, Liston was named a Far West All-American.[10] At the end of their second season, she was named to the All-West Region second team, finishing second in the region with 130 saves, and a goals-against average of 1.64.[11] In 1995, she was named to the UNM Athletics Hall of Honor as Female Athlete of the Year.[12] By the time she graduated, she had set school records for total number of saves (438) and shutouts (18).[4]

After completing her master's degree, Moore contacted the San Diego Spirit to inquire about a possible administrative position with the club which was starting in the new Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) league, but was invited to a local tryout instead.[9] In February 2001, she was invited to join the preseason roster as a walk-on player, making her one of three goalkeepers with the San Diego Spirit, including two international players: Ulrika Karlsson from Sweden and Jaime Pagliarulo from the USA.[13][9]

During the WUSA spring training tournament, Moore impressed Philadelphia Charge coach Mark Krikorian, who signed her after she was waived.[9][5][4] Soccer Digest later referred to Moore as "one of Krikorian's shrewdest acquisitions".[5]

On April 22, 2001, Moore started in goal for the Philadelphia Charge, playing against the San Diego Spirit their inaugural match.[14][5] She proceeded to shut out her former teammates 2–0 in front of a sell-out crowd of 6,155 at Torero Stadium, in what The San Diego Union Tribune called the WUSA's "first fairy tale".[14] She pulled off a second shutout against the Spirit when the two teams met again later that season.[5] Moore started in 9 matches that year with a 5–3–1 record, allowing only 1.01 goals per game,[4] but was sidelined for part of the season due to injury.[5] Her performance during the playoffs was said to be "shaky".[15]

During her second season, Moore was widely recognized as one of the top goalkeepers in the league,[4][5] leading what Soccer Digest called "a nearly impenetrable defense".[16] Moore started in all but one game, with a record of 11–3–6,[4] bringing the Philadelphia Charge within one game of securing the top position within the WUSA during the regular season,[16] and helping them secure a place in the playoffs.[4] She had the best goals-against average in the league (1.0), had the second highest save percentage (78.18%), and made the third most saves (86).[4]

Ahead of the WUSA's third and final season, the Philadelphia Charge's top draft pick was University of Washington goalkeeper Hope Solo;[16] USA Today commented that the Charge had "[set] up an interesting situation for the starting spot."[6] While competition between Moore and Solo was intense, Moore remained the Charge's "usual" starting goalkeeper for most of the season.[17]

Moore trained with the United States women's national soccer team in 1996.[18][13]

As of July 2001, Moore was one of only two Philadelphia Charge players who was married.[19] She was featured along with midfielder Michelle Demko in The Makeover Story, which premiered on The Learning Channel in October 2001.[20]