Taylor Smith (soccer)

Taylor Nicole Smith (born December 1, 1993) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender for OL Reign in the National Women's Soccer League and the United States national team. She previously represented the United States on the under-23, under-20, and under-17 national teams. Smith helped lead the UCLA Bruins women's soccer team to its first-ever national title in 2013.

Taylor Smith
Personal information
Full name Taylor Nicole Smith
Date of birth (1993-12-01) December 1, 1993
Place of birth Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Height 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Playing position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 OL Reign
Number 23
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2015 UCLA Bruins 87 (27)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 Western New York Flash 18 (2)
2017 North Carolina Courage 15 (0)
2018 Washington Spirit 23 (0)
2018 → Newcastle Jets (loan) 6 (0)
2019– OL Reign 0 (0)
National team‡
2010 United States U17
2011 United States U20
2014–2016 United States U23
2017– United States 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of March 22, 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of March 7, 2018

Early life

Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Smith attended Fort Worth Country Day School where she captained the varsity soccer team for three years.[1] She also played field hockey and ran track and field.[1] Smith earned conference honors in both soccer and track. She was ranked as the eighth top national college recruit by Top Drawer Soccer and ESPN. Top Drawer Soccer ranked her as the top recruit in the state of Texas and she was twice named Youth All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).[1] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram named Smith to their Super Team twice.[1]

Smith played club soccer for Solar Chelsea. She helped the LA Blues win the USL W-League title in 2014.[1]

UCLA Bruins, 2012–2015

Smith attended UCLA where she played for the Bruins from 2012–2015.[1] During her freshman season, she played in all 23 games, starting 17. Her three goals ranked eighth in the Pac-12 Conference and 20 points ranked tenth in points. Smith was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team Top Drawer Soccer All-Freshman Team.[1] During her sophomore season, her 8 goals ranked second on the team. Her 11 assists and 26 points both ranked third in the Pac-12.[1] Smith started in 25 of the 26 games in which she played. During the NCAA Division 1 quarterfinals, she scored the game-winning golden goal in double overtime to lift the team past North Carolina and into the semifinals. Her three goals during the tournament helped the team clinch its first NCAA Division 1 College Cup title.[2][3] Smith was named to the All-Pac-12 first team.[1] During her junior season, Smith started in all 24 games. Her nine goals scored and four game-winning goals tied for second on the team. Her 23 points ranked third on the team and eighth in the conference.[1] As a senior, she co-captained the team and was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.[1][4]

Club career
Taylor Smith with the North Carolina Courage in 2017
Playing in a friendly for the national team in 2017

Western New York Flash, North Carolina Courage, 2016–2017

Smith was named to the Western New York Flash opening day roster for the 2016 NWSL season.[5] She made twenty appearances for the club and scored two goals.[6] The team's fourth place finish during the regular season with a 9–6–5 record secured the team a berth to the playoffs.[7] After defeating the Portland Thorns FC 4–3 in extra time during the semifinal,[8] the Flash faced the Washington Spirit in the final and won the game in a penalty kick shootout after finishing 2–2 in extra time.[9] Three months after the win, the Western New York Flash was sold to the ownership group of North Carolina FC and moved to Cary, North Carolina where they became the North Carolina Courage.[10]

Washington Spirit, 2018

In January 2018, Smith was traded to the Washington Spirit along with teammate Ashley Hatch in exchange for Crystal Dunn's rights.[11] Prior to the start of the season, Smith was added to the allocated player list by U.S. Soccer.[12] She appeared in 23 games for Washington in the 2018 season.

Loan to Newcastle Jets, 2018

In October 2018, after the conclusion NWSL season, Smith signed with the Newcastle Jets on loan for the 2018–19 W-League season.[13] She became a key player in her first several appearances, earning the team's Player of the Month honors in November. In mid-December, Smith suffered an ACL tear in the 86th minute against Perth Glory after having registered two assists to fellow on-loan American, Katie Stengel.[14]

Reign FC, 2019–present

On March 22, 2019, Reign FC announced that they had signed Smith through the discovery process for former allocated players. Due to the injury she suffered in the W-League, Smith is not expected to play during the 2019 NWSL season.[15]

International career

In January 2017, Smith was called into training camp for the United States women's national soccer team for the first time by head coach Jill Ellis.[16] She earned her first cap for the team on July 27 when she started in the right back defender position during a match in Seattle against Australia at the 2017 Tournament of Nations.[17][18]

Smith was named to the U.S roster for the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, she started two games as the United States won the tournament for the second time.[19]

Personal life

Smith came out publicly as a lesbian in 2017.[20]

Honors

International

Club

Western New York Flash

North Carolina Courage

College

UCLA

gollark: No, it talks about credit agencies and stuff too.
gollark: They link that. It *appears* to actually be his website, based on search results. No idea if it says what is claimed.
gollark: https://joebiden.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/UNITY-TASK-FORCE-RECOMMENDATIONS.pdf
gollark: Is joebiden.com his actual website?
gollark: Hmm, that site actually does link to the report thing?

References
  1. "Taylor Smith". UCLA. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  2. "Golden goal by Taylor Smith gives UCLA 1–0 win, its first against UNC". NCAA. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  3. "UCLA wins NCAA women's soccer title in overtime". USA Today. December 8, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  4. Karp, Justin (August 6, 2015). "MAC Hermann Award watch list includes six Pac-12 soccer players". Pac 12 Conference. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  5. "Nine Bruins on Opening Day Rosters". uclabruins.com.
  6. "T. Smith". Soccer Way. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  7. "2016 NWSL". Soccer Way. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  8. Yang, Stephanie (October 2, 2016). "WNY Flash stun Portland Thorns 4–3 in extra time". Excelle Sports. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  9. "Watch: Western New York Flash win NWSL title in PKs after clutch Williams goal". Sports Illustrated. October 10, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  10. Goldberg, Jamie (January 9, 2017). "Western New York Flash officially moving to Cary, North Carolina". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  11. "Washington Spirit acquires U.S. internationals Taylor Smith, Ashley Hatch from North Carolina Courage". washingtonspirit.com. January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  12. "NWSL Announces 2018 Allocated Players". February 15, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  13. Jacob Windon (October 5, 2018). "Newcastle sign American defender". w-league.com.au. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  14. Jacob Windon (December 17, 2018). "Newcastle Jets confirm Smith injury blow". w-league.com.au. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  15. "DEFENDER TAYLOR SMITH SIGNED BY REIGN FC". March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  16. Yang, Stephanie (January 4, 2017). "Jill Ellis calls in 29 players for first USWNT camp of 2017". SB Nation. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  17. "Building Towards 2019". U.S. Soccer. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  18. "U.S. WNT SECOND-HALF EFFORT COMES UP SHORT AS AUSTRALIA SECURES 1–0 WIN". U.S. Soccer. July 27, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  19. "ELLIS NAMES 23-PLAYER ROSTER FOR 2018 SHEBELIEVES CUP". March 1, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  20. "Taylor Smith describes her coming out".
  21. "WNT WINS 2018 SHEBELIEVES CUP WITH 1–0 VICTORY VS. ENGLAND". March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
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