Rutgers-Camden Athletics

The definition of a student-athlete, Grant Taylor has been one of the Scarlet Raptors’ top players on the field and top students in the classroom throughout his three-year collegiate career. He heads into his senior season having played in 68 career games, starting 21, and producing five goals and 11 assists for 21 points.
 
Taylor played a big role in the midfield during his sophomore season at Rutgers-Camden, helping the Scarlet Raptors post the best campaign in program history with a 23-1-2 record and a berth in the NCAA Division III championship game. He played in every game for the Raptors, who won their third consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference title that season. Last year, as a junior, he played in all 25 games as the Raptors finished as a NJAC finalist and went on to win the ECAC Division III Metro/Upstate title.
 
Taylor, who has played in all 51 Rutgers-Camden contests over the last two years, needs only 22 more appearances to reach the 90-game milestone for his career, something that only two players in program history have accomplished entering the 2015 campaign.
 
Taylor also earned his USSF State E Coaching License in March, 2015.
 
Soccer 2014: Played in all 25 games, starting 11…Notched three goals, including the game-winning tally in a 3-1 victory over William Paterson University (Sept. 24)…Finished third on the team in assists (6), tied for third with his three goals and fourth in points (12)…Had 32 shots, 13 on goal…Earned NJAC Honorable Mention…Captured NSCAA Men’s College Division Scholar All-East Region Honorable Mention…NJAC Academic Honorable Mention …Collected his first assist of the season in a 3-1 win over Eastern University (Sept. 10)…His first goal of the year was the winner against Paterson (Sept. 24)…Added regular-season assists against New Jersey City University (a 3-0 win, Sept. 27), Ramapo College (2-0, Oct. 11) and Montclair State University (a 5-2 loss, Oct. 18)…Came up with a big assist in both the semifinals and championship game of the ECAC Division III Metro/Upstate tournament to lead the Raptors to the title: Assisted Mike Ryan’s game-winning goal in a 1-0 semifinal win over New York University (Nov. 15) and assisted Ryan’s first goal in a 2-1 championship game win over Stockton (Nov. 16)…In addition to his goal against Paterson, also scored goals in 3-1 wins over Kean University (Oct. 4) and Rutgers-Newark (Nov. 4 in the NJAC semifinals)…Played a season high 74 minutes in a 1-1 tie at Stockton (Oct. 29).
 
Soccer 2013: Played in all 26 games, one of only six Raptors to do so…Made eight starts for the Scarlet Raptors’ 23-1-2 Division III national finalist and NJAC championship team…Collected one goal and two assists for four points…Took 19 shots, five on goal…Earned NJAC Academic Honorable Mention recognition…Helped the team tie a program record with 12 shutouts…Made eight consecutive starts between Aug. 31 and Sept. 21, beginning with a 4-3 win over DeSales University in which he played a season-high 72 minutes…Collected his first point of the season when he assisted on Zev Fayer’s goal in a 5-0 win over Eastern University (Sept. 11)…Assisted on Giuseppe DeLuca’s game-winning goal in a 2-0 victory over Cairn University (Oct. 22)…In the next game, he scored his lone goal during a 4-1 victory against Ramapo College (Oct. 26)…Tied his season high of 72 minutes played in the NCAA championship game against Messiah College (Dec. 7), in which the Falcons won, 2-1 in double overtime.
 
Soccer 2012: Played in 17 games, starting two…Collected one goal and three assists for five points…Earned an assist in his collegiate debut, helping the Raptors beat Wesley College, 3-0, in their season opener Sept. 2 in the Blue Jay Classic at Johns Hopkins University…That game was the first of four straight shutouts for the Raptors – one shy of the program record – to start the season. Taylor played in all four, including a 4-0 win over Cabrini College (Sept. 5) and back-to-back victories at the Cialella Soccer Classic (Sept. 8-9) over St. Joseph’s College-Long Island (5-0) and Arcadia University (3-0)…Made his first collegiate start in a 2-1 overtime victory at Rowan University (Sept. 19)…Assisted on the game-winning goal by Ray El-Khoury as Rutgers-Camden beat Haverford College, 2-1, on Oct. 17…Played a major role in a record-setting 5-0 win at New Jersey City University (Oct. 24) in which the Scarlet Raptors scored four goals in a 2:46 span: he assisted Mike Ryan’s goal at 55:07, which came only 16 seconds after a tally by Zak Piccoline for the fastest two goals in program history. It also capped a three-goal explosion in a program-record 2:09…Later in that game he added his first collegiate goal at 74:01…Helped the Scarlet Raptors post back-to-back wins over Rutgers-Newark (3-1, Nov. 2) and Rowan University (3-0, Nov. 3) to capture their second straight NJAC title.
 
High School: Earned three varsity soccer letters at Mendham High School for Coach Tim Rymer...High Honor Roll.
 
Personal: Born May 11, 1993…Nicknamed “Geez”…Played club soccer for FC Copa Forza, the 2011 New Jersey State Cup champions, and Luso (PDL)…Started his collegiate studies at the County College at Morris, but didn’t play soccer…Marketing and Management double majors at Rutgers-Camden…Honors College at Rutgers-Camden…Dean’s List during spring and fall 2013 semesters…Grant is the son of Randall and Christine Taylor of Lebanon.