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Taylor selected to guide Clarkson's men's soccer program

Posted 7/23/14

The Clarkson University Athletic Department has announced the hiring of Chris Taylor as its new head coach for Men's Soccer. With a sound knowledge of Clarkson Soccer and the Liberty League, Taylor …

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Taylor selected to guide Clarkson's men's soccer program

Posted

The Clarkson University Athletic Department has announced the hiring of Chris Taylor as its new head coach for Men's Soccer.

With a sound knowledge of Clarkson Soccer and the Liberty League, Taylor becomes only the eighth head coach in program history when the Golden Knights' 62nd season begins in 2014. A native of Liverpool, England, he has competed against the Clarkson men's soccer program in each year he has been an NCAA student-athlete or coach.

Taylor served as an assistant coach for conference rival Vassar College since November 2012 and was a four-year standout and an assistant coach with the Plattsburgh State University Cardinals.

"I couldn't be happier to be joining Clarkson University," said Taylor. "I have wanted to be a head coach for a long time and Clarkson provides a fantastic opportunity to coach at a quality school as well as compete in one of the top conferences in D3. My coaching education at Vassar and Plattsburgh will serve me well in creating my own program."

While on the Vassar staff, he helped to guide the Brewers to an 8-5-5 record and a berth into the Liberty League playoffs last fall. Taylor helped to bring to Vassar a talented class of players representing nine different states as well as three players who competed in the highly prestigious USSDA Development Academy.

As an assistant coach at Plattsburgh, he was instrumental in helping to put together two recruiting classes that went on to win the SUNYAC Regular Season Championship in 2012 and the SUNYAC Postseason Championship in 2013.

"We are excited to have Chris on board," stated Clarkson Athletic Director Steve Yianoukos. "His passion and enthusiasm for the game coupled with his knowledge of both the Liberty League and Upstate New York made him the perfect choice to lead our Men's Soccer team into the future. I am looking forward to watching the development of the team in the coming years."

Taylor has also served as head coach for the LaGrange Soccer Club U16 squad in Poughkeepsie, NY since November, 2012. The Boys U16 Red Devils participated in many of the top East Coast college showcase events.

While a member of the Plattsburgh soccer team, he was selected to the All-SUNYAC First Team three consecutive seasons. Taylor received ECAC Upstate All-Region and NSCAA All-East Region honors twice. He is also the program's all-time assist leader with 38.

Taylor also worked as a Player Development Officer for the New York Red Bulls from 2006-07. A part of the Major League Soccer Network, Red Bull also owns four more teams throughout the world. For the past two years he has visited Liverpool Football Club, spending time shadowing their coaches to learn training methods.

He also served as a coach for the Plattsburgh Football Club. Taylor has received his NSCAA National Diploma and England Football Association Level One and Level Two Coaching Certificates.

A 2012 graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh, Taylor has been coaching in some capacity for over 10 years.