Nick Taylor
នីក ថេល័រ (Khmer)
Personal information
Full name Nicolas Doeung Taylor[1]
Date of birth (1998-09-02) 2 September 1998[2]
Place of birth Coppell, Texas, U.S.
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Left winger, left back
Team information
Current team
 Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng
Number 23
Youth career
Dallas Texans
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 New Mexico Lobos 29 (6)
2019–2021 SMU Mustangs 31 (2)
2021 UCF Knights 16 (3)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022 Orlando City B 22 (1)
2023– Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng 17 (1)
International career‡
2022– Cambodia 8 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 January 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 October 2023

Nicolas Doeung Taylor (Khmer: នីកូឡាស ឌឿង ថៃល័រ; born 2 September 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a left winger or left back for Cambodian Premier League club, Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng. Born and raised in the United States to an American father and a Cambodian mother, he earned his first senior international cap for the Cambodia national team in September 2022.

Early years

Growing up in Coppell, Texas, Taylor played soccer for Coppell High School where he won the Texas UIL 6A State Championship in 2016 and was named to the 2016–17 NSCAA Winter-Spring High School Boys All-American Team. He was a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year nominee, finishing as runner-up in 2016. Taylor also played club soccer for Dallas Texans, helping the team become U.S. Youth Soccer National bronze medalist in 2013. With Dallas Texans, Taylor also won two State Cups and two Classic League Division I titles.[3]

College career

Taylor played five seasons of college soccer between 2017 and 2021 while majoring in marketing. Although he received numerous Division 2 and Division 3 offers, Taylor's only D1 offer was from Conference USA team New Mexico Lobos, coached by Paul Souders. Souders had heard of Taylor as early as middle school because their mothers worked together at the school Taylor was at and later also attended his alma mater, Coppell High School. Despite inviting Taylor to a New Mexico talent ID camp and eventually getting him to verbally commit to New Mexico, Souders left the program to become an assistant to Scott Calabrese at UCF Knights the day before signing day but made a phone call to Taylor, convincing him to remain committed.[4] Taylor ultimately played two seasons at New Mexico, making 29 appearances, scoring six goals and five assists. He earned 2018 All-Conference USA Second Team honors.[3][5]

When the Lobos program was shut down following the 2018 season, Taylor initially reached out to Souders but UCF already had depth at the winger position.[4] Instead he joined SMU Mustangs of the American Athletic Conference. As a junior, he played 20 games in the 2019 season, registering three assists including one in a 3–3 tie with UCF during the regular season. SMU also beat UCF 1–0 in the 2019 American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament final. With the 2020 season delayed until Spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor started all 11 matches during the shortened season, scoring two goals including one against UCF.[6]

Having been granted an additional year of eligibility due to the shortened nature of the pandemic season, Taylor entered the NCAA transfer portal. Souders spotted his name on the transfer portal and convinced head coach Calabrese to offer Taylor a spot on the team that night having been impressed during frequent meetings between SMU and UCF.[4] In his fifth year, Taylor started all 16 of UCF's games, scoring three goals and nine assists.[7]

Club career

Orlando City B

On January 11, 2022, Taylor was selected in the third round (74th overall) of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft by Orlando City.[8] Having spent time with the club in preseason camp, he signed a professional contract with the team's reserve affiliate, Orlando City B, in MLS Next Pro ahead of 2022 season.[9] He made his professional debut on March 26 in the season opener.

Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng

On February 3, 2023, Nick was unveiled as the new player for Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng of the Cambodian Premier League.[10] He made his debut on February 26, as a 63rd-minute substitute against Nagaworld FC in the CNCC League Cup and scored six minutes later. PKR Svay Rieng won 5–0.[11]

International career

Born in the United States, Taylor's mother is Cambodian making him eligible to represent Cambodia internationally.[7] In May 2022, it was reported Cambodian coaches were considering selecting Taylor for the upcoming 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification third round matches in June but this ultimately did not happen.[12] However, in September 2022, Taylor was first named to a preliminary list of 40 players for an upcoming international friendly against Bangladesh before being named to the final 24-player squad two weeks later.[13]

Taylor made his senior international debut on September 23, 2022, entering as a 60th-minute substitute in a 1–0 loss to Bangladesh. In December 2022, he was named to the squad to compete at the 2022 AFF Championship.[14] On December 29, 2022, Taylor scored his first international goal, a penalty in a 5–1 victory over Brunei in the group stage of that competition.[15]

Career statistics

College

School Season Division Apps Goals
New Mexico Lobos 2017 Div. I 122
2018 174
Total 296
SMU Mustangs 2019 Div. I 200
2020–21 112
Total 312
UCF Knights 2021 Div. I 163
Career total 7611

Club

As of 9 April 2023[1]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Playoffs Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Orlando City B 2022 MLS Next Pro 221———221
PKR Svay Rieng 2023–24 Cambodian Premier League 000053—53
Career total 221005300274

International

As of 2 January 2023[16]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Cambodia 202241
202310
Total51
As of match played 29 December 2022:
Cambodia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Taylor goal[16]
List of international goals scored by Nick Taylor
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1December 29, 2022Morodok Techo National Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia4 Brunei2–15–12022 AFF Championship[15]

Honors

SMU Mustangs

References

  1. 1 2 Nick Taylor at Soccerway
  2. ↑ Nick Taylor at WorldFootball.net
  3. 1 2 "Nick Taylor – New Mexico Lobos". University of New Mexico. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 David, Austin. "Nick Taylor's twisting journey leads to chance with Orlando City". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  5. ↑ "MSOC: All-Conference Awards Announced". conferenceusa.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Nick Taylor – SMU Men's Soccer". SMU Athletics. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Nick Taylor – UCF Men's Soccer". UCF Athletics. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "Orlando City Selects Forward Jack Lynn in First Round of 2022 MLS SuperDraft". www.orlandocitysc.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  9. ↑ "Orlando City B Announces 2022 Roster Ahead of Inaugural MLS NEXT Pro Season". www.orlandocitysc.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "គាត់បានមកដល់ហើយ ✨ He's... – Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  11. ↑ "Match report: Angkor Tiger FC v PKR Svay Rieng" (PDF). www.cpl-cambodia.com.
  12. ↑ Tola, Kang. "កីឡាករកូនកាត់ខ្មែរអាមេរិក១រូប កំពុងត្រូវបានអ្នកស្នេហាវិស័យបាល់ទាត់ ចង់ឃើញចូលក្រមជម្រើសជាតិកម្ពុជា".
  13. ↑ "សហព័ន្ធកីឡាបាល់ទាត់កម្ពុជា". Facebook (Football Federation of Cambodia official) (in Khmer). Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  14. ↑ "Cambodia AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 squad: Who's in and who's out?". www.goal.com.
  15. 1 2 "Cambodia v Brunei Live Commentary & Result, 29/12/2022, AFF Championship | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  16. 1 2 "Nick Taylor". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
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