Cal State Stanislaus Men's Soccer
Dana Taylor begins a new era of men’s soccer at Cal State Stanislaus, entering his first year at the helm of the program. Taylor comes to the Warriors from Division I Pac-10 Conference power Oregon State, and brings with him a wealth of collegiate coaching experience. Over the course of his coaching career at Oregon State and Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., 22 of Taylor's players have moved on to play professionally.
While at Oregon State, Taylor's teams did well in the classroom, regularly posting grade-point averages of 3.0 or better. Players earned conference academic honors 58 times, including 12 in 2006, 10 in ‘07 and seven in ‘08) and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American status on three occasions. Taylor's squads had a 10-year record of 79-98-14 with Oregon State. Through the 2002-07 seasons, however, the Beavers' average was just shy of 10 wins per season. In his 10 years at Oregon State, Taylor's players were recognized as all-conference athletes 46 times and as all-region 11 times. Danny Mwanga received Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors in 2008. Alan Gordon earned All-American honors in 2003 and Joe Zaher was a Freshman All-American in 2002. Taylor holds a United States Soccer Federation "A" coaching license and a National Soccer Coaches Association of America advanced national diploma. He has been a national staff instructor, coaching USSF national courses as well as being part of the national goalkeeping staff. The 2002 Oregon State team won a school-record 13 games and made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Taylor was named the Pac-10 co-Coach of the Year for the impressive performance. The 2003 season was also a banner year, as the Beavers advanced to the NCAA Men's College Cup for the second straight season, hosted an opening-round game for the first time in program history and claimed a school-record 13 wins for the second year in a row. While 2004 was a rebuilding year, the 2005 Beavers set a school record with a 10-game unbeaten streak, and also won three consecutive games against ranked Pac-10 teams. During the 2007 campaign, Oregon State was just three points shy of a tie for second-place in the Pac-10 Conference standings. Along with putting a quality team on the pitch, Taylor believed his program needed to encompass the classroom, encourage service to the community and promote personal character, as well as excel competitively. The Beavers averaged 10 hours of community service per player in 2007. Prior to coming to OSU, Taylor served as an assistant coach at Creighton for four seasons, helping the team to a 63-17-6 record, two Missouri Valley Conference titles and a Final Four appearance in 1996. At Creighton, Taylor's primary responsibility was working with the goalkeepers. The Bluejays had a 0.87 goals-against average and 35 shutouts in 86 games with Taylor on the coaching staff. During that time, Creighton won three MVC tournament titles to go with its two regular-season conference titles. The Bluejays reached the NCAA Tournament all four years, advancing to the 1996 Final Four, the 1997 second round and the 1998 quarterfinals. As a youth coach, Taylor's squad won the U-23 Region II championship and finished second at the 1998 national finals. Taylor was the Nebraska State Soccer Association's Director of Coaching and Player Development from 1993-95, overseeing all 25,000 players in the state. Prior to that, Taylor was the Colorado Springs Chargers Soccer Club's Director of Coaching while also working as an assistant coach at Colorado College. In 1992, Taylor helped Colorado College to an 18-2-2 record, a No. 3 final regular-season ranking and a spot in the NCAA Division III Final Four. Taylor earned a Bachelor of Science degree in recreation with a minor in personnel management from the United College of Barrington-Gordon, then located in Rhode Island, in 1985. While at the school, he was a four-year starter and a two-time National Christian College Athletic Association All-New England selection. Taylor, 45, and his wife, Lisa, have three sons: Brandon (19), Brady (14), and Bradlee (10). Brandon is on the golf team at Oregon State. |
Dana Taylor