When it came time for Brianna Moore to decide her future, the Palmerton standout needed only to look to her past.

The familiarity and fit of Duquesne University made it an obvious choice for Moore to continue her soccer career, which she made official on Wednesday.

Her mom, Laura, and dad, Steven, both attended the Pittsburgh school, where her father also continued his athletic career in swimming.

Brianna didn’t need much time to decide it was the right choice for her.

“It’s great to carry on the legacy that my family started at Duquesne,” she said. “I’m really excited, and to be able to play Division I soccer at a great university is even more exciting. I can’t wait to start this new chapter in my life.

“I started going to camps at Duquesne when I was in eighth grade, and right away I felt something there. I knew that is where I wanted to be. The coaching staff there is amazing. The team chemistry there is great. My family, my coaches, my friends, all helped me with this decision, and I’m really happy to be there.”

And the Dukes are happy to have her.

Moore set Palmerton’s single-season scoring record this past fall, finishing with 52 goals and seven assists while also helping the Bombers reach the District 11 Class 2A final, Colonial League semifinals and finish with a record of 18-4.

An unquestionably accomplished player, Moore also plays for Penn Fusion Soccer Academy out of West Chester.

She started with the program in eighth grade, and devotes multiple days each week training there. The senior will be playing in a showcase event with Penn Fusion in Tennessee next month.

Moore is also a tremendous basketball player who needs just 118 points to reach the 1,000-point mark. She led Palmerton to District 11 Class 3A and Colonial League title games last year.

She also played AAU basketball growing up, but made the decision to focus on soccer, which led her to Penn Fusion.

“My competitiveness came from a really young age,” said Moore. “I started playing sports when I was 5 for basketball, and 7 for soccer. My parents were also really athletic, and they pushed me and got me to be involved in sports and introduced me to everything.”

Moore joined the Palmerton program the same time as head coach David O’Brien in a 2020 season that was shortened due to COVID-19.

“It immediately stood out that she was obviously an incredible player,” said O’Brien. “We knew she would be a difference-maker for us from the first day she came out, and that’s exactly what she was. And what stood out was just how great of a teammate she was, how much of a team leader she was, and how she fit in with the rest of the team.

“This year, that blossomed even more. She was just a great leader, a great kid.”

In just two years, Moore’s impact has been immense, as she finished with 66 goals and 10 assists in her high school career, helping the team post a 24-8-1 record during that time.

“She not only has the talent to take over games by herself, but she’s a very smart soccer player. She knows how to not only succeed herself, but to get her teammates in good positions to succeed,” said O’Brien. “She’s a great distributor. She sets up the play for the whole team.

“As a coach, to have someone who has that knowledge and that vision while they’re out there on the field and can direct where people should go and set things up and then be able to execute, that’s invaluable to have. It was a huge thing for us these last two years.”

Moore, who will study nursing at Duquesne, had interest from other schools.

But in the end, there was only one choice.

“I pretty much knew from the start I wanted to go to Duquesne,” said Moore. “But June 15 of your junior year you can start talking to coaches, and Bucknell, Seton Hall, Drexel, Illinois, Boston University and Old Dominion all reached out to me. I spoke to some over the phone, but when I first went to Duquesne, I just had that gut feeling.

“I had been to other campuses too, just traveling and stopping by and checking them out. But I didn’t have that feeling I had at Duquesne. I knew that’s where I wanted to be, and I knew that was the perfect fit for me. A lot of different things come into play, like location, coaching ... just everything played out and fit perfectly.”