By Randy Vogt, Director of Public Relations, Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
May 30, 2013-Campbell Hall resident Brittany Taylor is seeing significant playing time as a defender with the Western New York Flash of the new National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
In the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA), Brittany played for the Washingtonville Lady Storm of the East Hudson Youth Soccer League (EHYSL) and the Albertson Express of the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL). She competed for the Eastern New York Olympic Development Program (ODP) for four years which led to playing on Region 1 ODP and the US National Youth Teams. 86% of the American players in NWSL were members of ODP as teenagers.
Brittany played with the Under-17, Under-20 and Under-21 for five years and has two caps with the U.S. Women’s National Team. She stated, "My favorite moment on a soccer field was when I earned my first cap with the full Women’s National Team. It was a blizzard in Salt Lake City and we were playing Mexico. Coach Sundhage called me over with about 20 minutes left and gave me some instruction with her last words being, ‘Have fun out there!’ "
Brittany attended Washingtonville High School where she was a four-year letter winner. In her senior year, she was honored as All-American and as the New York State Player of the Year. She was also named the Times Herald-Record Player of the Year from 2002 to 2004 plus set the Wizards’ career record for goals with 127 and the record for goals in a single season with 36.
Playing for the UConn Huskies from 2005 to 2009, she was honored as All-American as well as being named the Big East Defender of the Year in both 2007 and 2009.
After college, she was selected sixth overall in the 2010 Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) Draft by Sky Blue FC. She made 42 appearances for the club, scored two goals and was named a WPS All-Star. When that league folded, she played last summer with the New York Fury of Women’s Premier Soccer League Elite.
Paul Riley coached the Fury and stated, "Britt is a monster of a defender with enormous physical qualities, great speed and knows how to tackle. Don’t be fooled by her tough, no nonsense defensive qualities because she has soft feet, strikes a brilliant ball and is a force going forward. She has experienced a phenomenal pro career and having coached her, I truly respect her hunger, professional preparation and off-the-field planning which makes her a top class pro."
On playing with the Western New York Flash, Brittany said, "After playing in the WPS for two years and then having another opportunity to play professional soccer in the US is very exciting. I think it’s great to show all the youth players there is something to aspire to become one day."
With 123,843 youth soccer players––68,587 boys and 55,256 girls––and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) stretches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with 12 leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. Eastern New York exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old, and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees and administrators. All levels of soccer are offered––from intramural, travel team and premier players as well as Special Children. No child who wants to play soccer is turned away. Eastern New York is a proud member of the United States Soccer Federation and United States Youth Soccer Association. For more information, please log on to http://www.enysoccer.com/, which receives nearly 300,000 hits annually from the growing soccer community.