FRISCO, Texas (Oct. 6, 2016) – Former US Youth Soccer National Champion with Solar 94 Red (TX-N) and North Texas Soccer alum Taylor Smith will return to Texas when her professional club Western New York Flash takes on Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Championship in Houston on Oct. 9.
Before Smith was finding the back of the net on a professional level, Smith was honing her skills while playing in North Texas. The former US Youth Soccer Region III and North Texas Olympic Development Program (ODP) and Classic League veteran won the 2010 National Championship with Solar. Smith led all scorers in the Under-16 age group with three goals in a field that included U.S. Women’s National Team regular and current Portland Thorns FC midfielder Lindsey Horan, who netted two goals for CO Rush Nike (CO).
Smith’s Solar squad won the 2008 North Texas Soccer State Cup, multiple US Youth Soccer Southern Regional Premier League West titles and the 2010 US Youth Soccer Region III Championships, where she also led the field in scoring with five goals in six games.
Smith, a Fort Worth native, began attending U.S. National Team camps at the Under-14 level and would go on to play for the Under-17, Under-18, Under-20 and Under-23 National Teams. After playing at Solar, Smith played collegiately at UCLA, where she won the 2013 NCAA Championship and was selected to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team, Second Team All-Pacific Region and All-Pac-12 First Team in her four years (2012-15) of playing for the Bruins.
Smith made her 19th appearance for the Flash in the club’s 4-3 overtime victory over 2016 NWSL Shield winners Portland Thorns in the NWSL Semifinals. Smith has made five starts and scored one goal in her rookie year with the Flash.