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Matt Taylor (born October 17, 1981 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American soccer player, who currently plays striker for the C.D. Chivas USA of Major League Soccer.
Taylor played college soccer at UCLA from 2000 to 2003. Taylor was mostly a substitute his first year, but earned a larger role as a sophomore, finishing the season with 7 goals and 2 assists. As a junior he bettered that, registering 12 goals and 8 assists, while being in an important part of a UCLA team that won the NCAA Championship. Taylor's senior season was his best, as he scored 14 goals and 8 assists, was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year, and was a Hermann Trophy finalist.
Although perceived athletic limitations looked to damage Taylor's draft status, an excellent MLS Combine saw the Wizards trade up to draft him 4th overall in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. Although stuck behind Davy Arnaud and Josh Wolff and receiving little playing time in 2003, Taylor showed his scoring acumen registering 3 goals and 1 assists in only 524 minutes from a substitute's role.
After his first season, Taylor was left unexposed for the 2004 MLS Expansion Draft, and was selected 11th overall by Chivas USA.
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