Taylor Graham

• Played four MLS seasons for Kansas City and New York from 2003-07, appearing in 34 games
• Member of the 2005 and 2007 USL-1 Seattle Sounders championship teams
• Named USL-1 Defender of the Year in 2005, and first team All-USL-1 in 2005 and 2008
• Coach Sigi Schmid: “Taylor’s a tall, rangy defender, who is a very good organizer of the defensive core.”

MLS Experience

2010: Started 7 of 8 appearances in all-competitions. Made MLS debut for Seattle vs. New England (6/5), entering as a reserve in the final minutes. Made first appearance of season in friendly vs. Boca Juniors (5/26), playing the full 90 minutes.

2009: Did not see action in regular season for Seattle, spending nearly three months on disabled list. Played 90 minutes at central defender in only appearance in U.S. Open Cup play-in 4-1 win vs. RSL (4/28). Suffered fracture of third metatarsal in right foot and placed on IR (5/26). Activated 8/13 after appearing as substitue vs. Barcelona (8/5). Active in the community, he received the team’s U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year award.

2007: Appeared in five matches for New York Red Bulls during first half of season, making three starts and tallying one assist. Returned to the USL-1 in June, signing with Sounders after being released by Red Bulls.

2006: Signed with New York and appeared in 10 matches, making six starts. Red Bulls reached playoff quarterfinals.

2004: Made 17 appearances for Kansas City, starting seven games for Bob Gansler and tallying one goal for MLS Cup finalists and U.S. Open Cup winners. Played a total of 760 minutes in his second year with the club.

2003: Drafted by Kansas City in 4th round (33rd overall) of the 2003 MLS SuperDraft. Appeared in two games with MLS debut against Chicago Fire (6/21), playing nine minutes. Wizards reached MLS semifinals.

Other Professional Experience

2008: Played in 26 regular season games for the USL-1 Seattle Sounders, making 25 starts and scoring one goal. Scored one goal in Seattle’s run to the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup. Named first team All-USL-1 and finalist for Defender of the Year.

2007: Played in 12 regular season games after being released by New York, scoring two goals to help lead Seattle to the 2007 Commissioner’s Cup and league championship.  Second team All-USL-1.

2005: Signed with Seattle Sounders following his release from Kansas City and was named USL-1 Defender of the Year and first team All-USL-1. Notched two goals, both in wins over Portland, earning league Player of the Week. Seattle won USL-1 championship, defeating Richmond Kickers.

College

Joined Stanford as a walk-on freshman. After redshirting in 1998, and playing just two games the following season, earned part-time starter role in 2000. Started all 22 games as junior and captained the Cardinal as senior. Helped the team reach NCAA tournament four times, including semifinal as junior and College Cup final as senior. Named All Pac-10 first team and third team All-Far West Region his senior year. Twice voted first team All-Academic Pac-10.

International

Represented Puerto Rico in three international friendlies (including the team’s first win in 14 years) during early 2008 before FIFA eligibility rules were clarified.

Personal

Speaks fluent Spanish and French. Older brother Curtis played volleyball for Stanford. Older sister Carter attended Brown University. Graduated with degree in international relations with a minor in Spanish. Earned Masters in Sociology from Stanford.