Chris Taylor '11 Named Head Men's Soccer Coach

Chris Taylor has been named the 12th head coach in the 67-year history of the SUNY Plattsburgh men's soccer program, as announced Wednesday by director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation Mike Howard.

Taylor, a 2011 graduate of SUNY Plattsburgh and an assistant coach for the Cardinals during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, most recently served as the head men's soccer coach at Clarkson University for four years. 

Taylor takes over the men's soccer program after head coach Chris Waterbury announced his retirement following the 2017 season. Waterbury, who coached Taylor as a student-athlete, led the program for 33 years.

"We could not be more pleased to welcome Chris and his wife back home to Cardinal Country," Howard said. "His experience as one of our all-time great players combined with his track record of success as a coach made him an ideal fit to continue to build upon the tradition of success Chris Waterbury has worked hard to develop over the past three decades. He is considered by many to be one of the premier young coaches in the game of soccer at any level, and we are extremely fortunate have him back on the Cardinal sideline."

An ‘Honor’

"It is an honor for me to come back to Plattsburgh State and to the men's soccer program," Taylor said. "I enjoyed every moment as a student-athlete and then as an assistant coach within the program, and those memories will stay with me forever. I am now hoping to create new memories for the current and future student-athletes with the program while striving to get back to the top of the conference. Taking over from a coaching legend in Chris Waterbury is no small task, but I am excited for the challenge and can't wait to get back to competing in the SUNYAC. I would like to thank the search committee and Mike Howard for giving me this opportunity, but especially Chris Waterbury. Chris has mentored me since I came to Plattsburgh in 2007 and has been pivotal in my coaching career. Without him, I would not have this amazing chance to lead this program, and for that I cannot thank him enough."

Taylor guided Clarkson to its first Liberty League Tournament berth since 1998 this past season, as the Golden Knights went 4-3-2 in conference play. He took a program that went 7-10-1 his first year at the helm to a combined record of 15-15-4 during his final two seasons at Clarkson. Taylor's coaching staff was named the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year in 2014, and during his tenure at Clarkson, he had seven different student-athletes earn Liberty League All-Star honors and three different student-athletes earn All-East Region laurels.

Assistant Coach at Vassar

Prior to Clarkson, Taylor served as an assistant coach at Vassar College, where he helped the Brewers achieve an 8-5-5 overall record and a berth into the Liberty League playoffs in 2013. He worked as an assistant coach at Plattsburgh State during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, helping the Cardinals go 30-8-3 overall and capture the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) regular-season title in 2012.

Taylor enjoyed a standout career competing for Plattsburgh State from 2007-10. He earned All-East Region recognition in 2009 and 2010 and All-SUNYAC accolades all four years on the team, including three First-Team honors from 2008-10. He is the program's all-time leader in assists with 38, and he also scored 21 goals during his career for 80 points total. In 2010, he finished the year ranked sixth in NCAA Division III in assists with 13 for the season, and he was seventh nationally in assists per game (0.68) in 2009. During his senior season in 2010, he helped lead the Cardinals to a SUNYAC championship.

He has received his NSCAA National Diploma and England Football Association Level One and Level Two Coaching Certificates and has been coaching in some capacity for more than 10 years.

Taylor earned his Bachelor of Arts in print journalism from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2011 and his Master of Science in recreation and sports science — soccer coaching — from Ohio University in 2016.