Taylor Vaudt has the opportunity not many people have — to play NCAA soccer with her best friend since childhood, her sister, Tori.

Taylor is a junior holding midfielder whose focus is more on defense. Her sister, Tori, is a freshman center back and plays in the middle of the back row of defenders.

“We used to play the same position,” Tori said. “But it’s nice now that I don’t have to compete with my sister for playing time like I did in high school. It didn’t go well for me since she was a captain.”

While they competed for playing time, it didn’t impact their relationship.

“Playing soccer with Tori is just like playing with your best friend essentially,” Taylor said. “We can see the same play, and we will execute it very differently. So it adds a little twist to our chemistry. I think it’s a freaking blast, which is why I kind of recruited her to play at Simpson.”

Tori currently is sidelined by an ankle injury while Taylor is playing but always has her ankle wrapped for soccer. They said the ankle issues are hereditary.

Taylor said her dad showed her his ankle after playing softball, and it was “puffed up like a balloon.” Tori has been practicing with the team but said she doesn’t want to push her ankle to 100 percent in a game just yet.

When they are both healthy, though, they love to play together.

“It’s nice playing with my sister because on most teams you have to talk so much, but with her, I can just say a few words and she’ll just get what we’re doing,” Tori said.

Tori started playing soccer because Taylor played and she wanted to be like her big sister. Even when not playing soccer, Taylor and Tori are still together and have always been close.

Off the field, they like to watch movies and eat popcorn, and they both work at the Applebee’s in Marshalltown. Taylor and Tori also like to spend time together doing old and new activities, like crocheting and hunting Pokémon.

Taylor said she would compare herself and Tori to the twins portrayed by Lindsay Lohan in “The Parent Trap,” because they are similar but different, they value family, and they love playing tricks on each other.