Matt Taylor (American soccer)
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See also the disambiguation page, Matthew Taylor, for others with this name
| Matt Taylor | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matt Taylor | |
| Date of birth | October 17, 1981 | |
| Place of birth | Columbus, OH, United States | |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |
| Playing position | Forward | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Hollywood United | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 2000-03 | UCLA | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2003 2004 2005-2007 2007 2008- |
Orange County Blue Star Kansas City Wizards Chivas USA Portland Timbers Hollywood United |
18 (11) 18 (3) 38 (2) 11 (1) - (-) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Matt Taylor (born October 17, 1981 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American soccer forward who currently plays for Hollywood United in the Coast Soccer League.
[edit] College Career
Taylor played college soccer at UCLA from 2000 to 2003. Taylor was mostly a substitute his first year, but earned a larger role as a sophomore, finishing the season with seven goals and two assists. As a junior he bettered that, registering 12 goals and eight assists, while being in an important part of a UCLA team that won the NCAA Championship. Taylor's senior season was his best, as he scored 14 goals and 8 assists, was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year, and was a Hermann Trophy finalist. Taylor was the nation's leading scorer in the NCAA tournament during UCLA's championship run in 2002 and was named to the all tournament team at the college cup. Taylor also is the all-time leading scorer for UCLA in post season tournament play. During his college years he also played with Orange County Blue Star in the USL Premier Development League, where he played alongside Jürgen Klinsmann.
[edit] Professional Career
Although perceived athletic limitations looked to damage Taylor's draft status, an excellent MLS Combine saw the Kansas City Wizards trade up to draft him 4th overall in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. Although stuck behind Davy Arnaud and Josh Wolff and receiving little playing time in 2003, Taylor showed his scoring acumen registering three goals and an assist in only 524 minutes from a substitute's role.
After his first season, Taylor was left unexposed for the 2004 MLS Expansion Draft, and was selected 8th overall by Chivas USA. He became one of the few non-Hispanics on the squad. Taylor was Chivas USA's first ever player to be named MLS player of the week. Taylor's first four years in MLS were hampered by injuries including a broken tibia, and double hernia surgery.
He was signed by the Portland Timbers of the USL First Division on July 25, 2007, but was released at the end of the season after scoring just 1 goal in 11 games.
He currently plays for the amateur side Hollywood United F.C. in the Los Angeles-based USASA-affiliated Coast Soccer League. He scored two goals on penalty kicks against his former club the Portland Timbers in the first round of the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, helping Hollywood to a shocking 3-2 win over the USL side.
