W. Soccer: Taylor named Women’s Player of the Year by Soccer America

For the third year in a row, Soccer America has named a Stanford player its Women’s Player of the Year, this time honoring senior forward Lindsay Taylor.

 
A 20-goal scorer this season, Taylor made trips to the College Cup all four years and helped bring home the NCAA title for the Cardinal two weeks ago. Her overtime goal in the quarterfinals against Oklahoma State lifted Stanford back to the Final Four.

Taylor has been a mainstay of the Cardinal attack since her arrival on the Farm in 2008. Since then, she has played in all but one match and made 98 starts. After a breakout freshman year earned her first-team All-America honors, Taylor’s production slipped as a sophomore due to injuries, but she re-emerged as Stanford’s leading scorer this season, filling the void left by 2009 Women’s Player of the Year Christen Press.

Taylor and senior midfielder Teresa Noyola are both still up for the Hermann Trophy, the Heisman of women’s soccer which Cardinal players have won two years in a row. The Hermann announcement will be made on Jan. 6.

Stanford is the first school in history to sport three different Soccer America Women’s Players of the Year in consecutive years; North Carolina players have won the award three years in a row on two occasions, but with a repeat winner each time.