Taylor Twellman

Birthday

Taylor was born on February 29th, 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Leap year has provided numerous celebrities including Ja Rule, Darren Ambrose, and Cam Ward.

Great Genes

When Taylor was born, his father played for the Minnesota Kicks, a professional soccer team part of the North American Soccer League.

Athletic Beginnings

Soccer and baseball were Taylor’s true loves. In his first soccer season, Taylor scored 40 goals in his kindergarten season as a central midfielder. In fact, Taylor didn’t start playing forward until after the 7th grade! Always playing with his older cousin, Taylor played up a year in baseball. Out in the yard one day in the 4th grade, Taylor started batting as a switch hitter in wiffle ball. It didn’t take long for him to take this ability to the real baseball diamond.

High School

During his time at St. Louis University High School, Taylor played varsity Soccer, Football, Baseball, and Basketball. He believed he had the game to play Division I basketball, and while he had a strong game, he never grew to a typical basketball player’s height. During his Junior year, he kicked for the football team on Fridays and played for the soccer team on Saturdays which continues to be a great memory for him. For the baseball team, he averaged over .350 for his four years including an impressive .517 his Senior year. So impressive in fact that the Kansas City Royals offered him a contract. Thankfully for soccer fans this was turned down. Rounding out his high school tenure, he was All-State his Junior year in Baseball, Soccer, and Football while being an NSCAA All American in Soccer his Junior and Senior years, including Player of the Year honors his Senior year. He ended up with 115 goals and 35 assists in his high school soccer career.

U-17 and Sports Illustrated Coverage

Taylor set a record in 1997 scoring 14 goals in one year for the National U-17 team. This including a great performance witnessed by his mother and sister scoring two goals in the World Youth Championships in Egypt.

U-20 National Team

In the World Youth Championships in Nigeria during 1999, Taylor won the Golden Boot for most goals in the tournament. He was the first American to win the award after scoring 4 goals during the championships.

Turning Pro

At 19, and already a great college career, Taylor decided to bring his game to the professional ranks. He first signed with Munich 1860 in the German Bundesliga. During 2 seasons, he led scoring for the reserve team however didn’t have a chance to play for the first team. While engaged with the local people, he and a teammate took German lessons twice a week to fully integrated with his new locale however after the devastating aftermath of September 11th, 2001, he decided to leave Munich 1860.

2002

Runner-up for league MVP and was a RadioShack Best XI selection. The first MLSscoring champion in Revs history, tallying 52 points on 23 goals and six assists. Was voted the Revolution Most Valuable Player as he helped lead the Revs to their first-everMLS Cup appearance, a 1-0, overtime loss to Los Angeles at Gillette Stadium. Had five multiple-goal games, and netted five game-winning goals. Was awarded the Nickelodeon GAS Play of the Year for his bicycle kick goal against the Kansas City Wizards on June 22. Started all six of the Revs’ MLS Cup Playoff games in which he appeared. Had two tallies in the playoffs, and was second on the team in postseason points to Brian Kamler (six). Both of his goals came against Chicago in the Eastern Conference Semifinals (Game 1 and Game 3). Was voted the Midnight Riders’ Man of the Year.

MLS Draft 2002

During the SuperDraft for the MLS in 2002, Taylor was selected with the 2nd overall pick by the New England Revolution.

2003

Led MLS in points per game (1.55) and goals per game (0.68) and tied Carlos Ruiz atop the goal-scoring chart with 15 goals. Tied for third in MLS in points (34). Voted Revolution Team MVP. Missed games because of sinusitis, walking pneumonia and multiple broken bones in his face. His season came to an end when he broke his left foot at Dallas on Oct. 4, a game in which he scored two goals. Missed all of the 2003 MLS Cup Playoffs with the broken foot. Was voted the Midnight Riders’ Man of the Year, becoming the first player to win the award in back-to-back seasons.

First Season

Taylor didn’t take long to reach the top of the MLS. During his rookie season he was runner-up for the league MVP and selected to the Best XI. He was selected as an All-Star and was the first Revolution player in history to win the league scoring title with 23 goals and 6 assists.

2003 MLS Season

In his second season, Taylor led the MLS in Goals per Game at 0.68 atop the MLS Goal Scoring Chart with 15 goals. He again made the All Star team. He was voted Midnight Rider’s Man of the Year becoming the first player to ever win the award in back to back seasons. In a downside to the season, Taylor suffered a nasty concussion when kicked in the face by Danny Califf of the LA Galaxy during a game on ESPN.

2004

Fought through injuries to appear in 23 games. Emerged from a scoring slump early in the season to finish second on the Revs in goals with nine. Added two vital goals for the Revs in the playoffs: one goal against Columbus in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals and the first of the Revs’ three game-tying goals against D.C. in the Eastern Conference Final. Led MLS in shots on goal (39).

2004 MLS Season

Even though Taylor suffered some injuries, he fought through the pain to score 9 goals during the season including 2 in the playoffs. He also made his US World Cup Qualifying debut as a right midfielder in a game versus Jamaica in Columbus, Ohio.

2005

Voted MLS Honda MVP and won MLS’ Budweiser Golden Boot, while making his second appearance on the end-of-season MLS RadioShack Best XI. An MLS All-Star for the third time in his career, and earned All-Star Game MVP honors after scoring one goal against EPL side Fulham FC. Scored two hat tricks in 2005 – against Dallas on July 16 and against Columbus on Sept. 10 – setting the club record for career three-goal games (3). On April 27 at Soldier Field against the Chicago Fire, Twellman scored his 50th career regular-season goal in a Revolution uniform, making him the first Revs player to reach that milestone. Led MLS in shots on goal (51). Went eight consecutive games with a goal and/or an assist between Aug. 6 and Sept. 24, the longest such streak in MLS in 2005. Earned MLS Player of the Month honors for September, scoring five goals and adding one assist in four games played. Was second in MLS in game-winning goals with six. Was voted the Midnight Riders’ Man of the Year, becoming the first player to win the award three times.

2005 MLS Season

In another breakout year, Taylor won the MLS Honda MVP and won MLS’s Budweiser Golden Boot with 17 goals and 7 assists on the season. He was an All Star yet again and also an MVP in the All Star game for English Premier League’s Fulham. For the third time, he won the Midnight Rider’s Man of the Year becoming the first person to do so. This year also saw Taylor’s first goal in World Cup Qualifying in a game vs Panama.

2006

Led the Revs in goal scoring for the fourth time in his five-year career, netting a team-best 11 goals. Scored his 75th career goal at D.C. on Oct. 7, a goal that was also the game-winning goal in the Revs’ 2-1 victory at RFK Stadium. Was one of six MLSplayers to start all 32 games, and ranked fourth in MLS in minutes played – 2,856 – setting a new personal single-season best. Was second in MLS in shots (86) and shots on goal (42), while ranking ninth in fouls suffered (60). An MLS All-Star selection, although he was unable to play in the game because of the Revs’ rescheduled game at Chivas USA. Twice scored goals in three straight games during the regular season (April 30 vs. Chicago through May 13 vs. Chivas USA and again June 28 vs. Dallas through July 4 at Colorado), and then again in the playoffs. Notched a goal against Chicago in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series to pull the Revs within one goal on aggregate, and after Pat Noonan knotted the series on aggregate later to send the series to a decisive penalty-kick round, Twellman scored the series-clinching penalty kick in the fourth round. Scored a highlight-reel goal – also the game-winning goal – at D.C. in the Eastern Conference Championship to send the Revs to MLS Cup 2006. Netted a goal in the 113th minute against Houston in MLS Cup 2006 – the Revs’ first-ever goal in the league’s championship game – and later scored in the penalty-kick round. After scoring goals in the Revs’ final three playoff games, Twellmanwas named to Soccer America’s 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs Best XI. Spent much of preseason training and the early season going back and forth between the Revolution and U.S. National Team camps and friendlies.

2006 MLS Season

Leading the Revolution for a 4th season in goals, Taylor had 11 on the season. He scored the last three goals of the Revolutions playoff run on the way to the MLS Cup 2006. He scored a goal in the MLS Cup in the 113th minute versus Houston and also scored a penalty in OT. He spent much of the preseason training for the national team’s World Cup 2006 roster scoring 4 goals and 2 assists.

2007

Appeared in 26 games with 25 starts, missing four games – three while on U.S. National Team duty at the CONCACAF Gold Cup and 2007 Copa America and one with an injury. Scored 16 goals in 2007, the third-highest total in the league, and added three assists. Had three multiple-goal games: April 14 vs. Toronto, May 13 at Los Angeles and Sept. 22 at New York. Five of his 16 goals were game-winners, tying him for second in the league in that category. Before leaving for National Team duty in June, played every minute of every game in which he was available. Made his first substitute appearance since 2003 when he entered the July 7 game against Chivas USA in the 56th minute, having returned to the Revs late the prior evening from Copa America in Venezuela. Scored two goals – including the game-winner in the 90th minute – of the Revs’ 4-2 victory over Rochester in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup on July 10. All three of his assists came in three straight games – July 22 vs. Houston, July 28 at RSL and Aug. 2 vs.KC – and all on Pat Noonan goals. Scored his 12th career goal against D.C. on Sept. 9, winning MLS Sierra Mist Goal of the Week for his volley strike. Also won the goal-of-the-week contest in Week 4 with his game-winning goal at Dallas. Had a two-goal effort at New York on Sept. 22 before leaving the game with an injury in stoppage time. Missed the Colorado game on Sept. 29 while still recovering from the injury. Scored the go-ahead goal in the championship game of the U.S. Open Cup at FC Dallas on Oct. 3, his team-best fourth goal of the team’s four-game championship run. Closed out the regular season with a goal at Toronto on Oct. 20. Started and played all 90 minutes in each of the Revs’ four games in their run to the title game of MLS Cup 2007. Had three goals in the postseason – the game-winning goals in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against New York on Nov. 3 and against Chicago in the Eastern Conference Championship on Nov. 8. His goal against the Fire scored ESPN’s SportsCenter’s “Play of the Day” with his overhead, bicycle kick that sent the Revs on to their third consecutive MLS Cup appearance. Also struck for the game’s first goal at MLSCup 2007, heading in a Steve Ralston cross past Pat Onstad in the 20th minute at RFKStadium.

2007 MLS Season

Scored 16 goals in the 2007 also notching up 3 assists. Taylor’s goal total was the 3rd highest in the league. He missed 4 MLS games to spend time playing for the National Team in the Gold Cup/Copa America. He scored 3 goals in the 2007 MLS Playoffs. In one of the most memorable goals of the age, Taylor made a ‘bicycle kick’ vs Chicago at Gillette Stadium to send team to the 2007 MLS Cup on November 8th, 2007. He then scored a goal versus Houston in the MLS Cup becoming the only player to score in consecutive MLS Cups.

2008

Tied for the team lead in goal scoring (8) despite posting then career-lows in regular-season MLS appearances (16), starts (12), minutes (1,211) and goals because of a variety of injuries, which included a torn right medial meniscus, right ankle sprain, hip flexor injury and concussion. Overall, made 20 appearances, including regular season, SuperLiga, CONCACAF Champions League and U.S. Open Cup matches. In all competitions, he scored nine goals. His eight MLS goals tied him for the team lead with Steve Ralston. Missed the season opener against Houston (March 29) after experiencing discomfort in his right knee during warm-ups. The injury caused him to miss the Revs’ first seven games after he underwent surgery to repair a tear in his right medial meniscus on April 2. Made his 2008 debut at Chivas USA (May 11), entering as a substitute to mark just his second substitute appearance since 2003 and his first since July 7, 2007. Scored the game-winning goal in the 59th minute from Steve Ralston’s assist but sustained a right ankle sprain after back-to-back challenges by Shavar Thomas in the 63rd minute, but remained in the game. Missed the next seven matches (May 17 vs. San Jose through June 21 at Real Salt Lake) while rehabbing his ankle injury. Returned to the field and made his 2008 home debut against Toronto (June 28) as a substitute. Picked up a hip flexor injury in training in early July and missed almost a month of action, returning in the SuperLiga final on Aug. 5. Was limited to substitute action until Aug. 9 against Chicago, when he made his first start of the season and scored the Revs’ only goal in the third minute. Had one goal and one assist against D.C. (Aug. 20) and struck in the 35th minute at Toronto (Aug. 23) as the Revs drew, 1-1. Against LA (Aug. 30), scored for the third straight match, heading in Khano Smith’s cross in the 22nd minute and taking a knock to the face from Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin in the process. Finished playing the game, but needed five stitches after the game to close the wound. Also scored single goals against Chivas USA (Sept. 11) and Real Salt Lake (Oct. 4). Recorded his 99th career goal in the 2-1 loss at D.C. (Oct. 16). Made one substitute appearance in SuperLiga, entering the final against Houston (Aug. 5) in the second half before converting the third penalty kick in the 6-5 shootout victory. Started the Revs’ first match in the CONCACAF Champions League against Joe Public FC, but missed the second game on Sept. 2 after his collision in the LA game (Aug. 30). Made two starts in the U.S. Open Cup, scoring one goal against Richmond (July 1). Missed both of the Revs’ playoff matches against Chicago with concussion-related symptoms stemming from the LA game on Aug. 30 and several subsequent matches. It marked the second time in his career he missed the playoffs because of injury (2003, broken foot).

2008-2009 MLS Seasons

He scored 8 goals in 2008 despite playing in career low games due to injuries. During the season he had knee surgery, ankle problems, and a severe concussion. On August 3oth, 2008, Taylor suffered what would end up becoming a career ending injury. While Taylor was dashing for a loose ball in the box, he would score a goal while colliding with the goalie of the LA Galaxy. After this viscous collision, Taylor would only come back for 2 games in the 2009 season scoring goals 100 and 101 vs New York. This made Taylor the fastest and youngest player to score 100 goals in MLS by doing it in only 174 games.

2009

Scored two goals in just two substitute appearances before being place on the Disabled List on June 26. Missed 28 games while suffering from severe whiplash symptoms and concussive symptoms stemming from a punch to the face while scoring a goal against Los Angeles on Aug. 30, 2008. After rehabbing and missing the first nine games of the season, made his 2009 season debut against D.C. (May 30), marking his first appearance in more than seven months. Entered the United match in the 25th minute and with 65 minutes of action, became the fourth player in club history to play 15,000 minutes for the club. Was pulled down by Bryan Namoff in the box, drawing the penalty kick that Steve Ralston converted to win the game in the 90th minute. Entered as a halftime substitute against New York (June 7) and scored two goals in the 4-0 win – the 100th and 101st of his career. The historic 100th goal was set up by Shalrie Joseph, whose back-post cross was headed home by Twellman in the 57th minute. Earned MLSplayer of the week honors for Week 12 following the historic two-goal effort. Suffered a relapse of his symptoms following the New York game and did not appear in another match the rest of the season.

Taylor Retires at age 30

Taylor has been working extensively with the Children’s Hospital. Check out a great clip of his work in helping raise awareness by clicking on the image!

ESPN and Comcast Announcer

During the 2010 World Cup, Taylor was the announcer for Comcast New England analyzing the day’s games and highlights. He also made his ESPN color debut during the San Jose Tottenham game. After a successful debut, he went on to do 4 more games that year. He also made an ESPN studio appearance on October 23rd during the New England New York game.