Men's Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- msoccer@athletics.ucla.edu
UCLA alumnus Matt Taylor is in his third season as an assistant coach with the men's soccer team in 2020. A member of UCLA's 2002 National Championship team and the 2003 Pac-10 Player of the Year, Taylor returned to the program as a coach prior to the 2018 campaign.
Junior forward Milan Iloski blossomed into an elite scoring threat under Taylor's tutelage in 2019, netting 17 goals and 36 points en route to First Team All-America honors. At 1.06, Iloski became the first Bruin in nearly 40 years to finish a season at over a goal per game (Ole Mikkelsen, 1980). UCLA's offense was solid as a whole in 2019, ranking in the top half of the Pac-12 in goals (29), assists (34), and points (92).
As a player, Taylor earned All-NCAA Tournament honors in 2002 after leading the team in scoring with five goals en route to the national title. During his senior year campaign in 2003, the Irvine, Calif. native was named a Second Team All-American and MAC Hermann Award Semifinalist on top of his conference player of the year honors. That season, he led the Bruins in scoring for the second consecutive year with 14 goals and 36 points.
Taylor remains the program leader in hat tricks with three while also top-5 in game-winning goals (12), multiple goal games (7) and consecutive games with a goal (4). He played in 87 games for UCLA making 55 starts and totaled 86 points with 33 goals.
He began his professional career being drafted fourth overall in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft to Kansas City followed by being taken eighth overall by Chivas USA in the 2004 MLS Expansion Draft. In 2008 he left to play in Germany, where he played professionally for nine seasons.
Since retiring in 2017, Taylor has attained a UEFA “B” Coaching License.
