Taylor Graham (born June 3, 1980) is a former American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player.

Career

Youth and college

Graham attended

Rio Americano High School Rio Americano High School, colloquially known as Rio, is a public high school in Arden-Arcade, California, just outside Sacramento, serving students in grades 9 through 12 as part of the San Juan Unified School District. Rio Americano students com ...

and played five years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, registering as a walk-on his freshman year of 1998, and only appearing in two games in 1999. After appearing in 18 games his sophomore season, Graham started every possible game his final two, winning first team All-Pac-10 his senior year, as he led the Cardinal to an appearance in the

NCAA College Cup The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champ ...

Professional

After graduating from Stanford, Graham was drafted 33rd overall in the

2003 MLS SuperDraft The 2003 MLS Superdraft was held January 17, 2003 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was the fifth annual SuperDraft held by Major League Soccer. Player selection Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Project-40 program ...

by the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

. Graham was signed to a

developmental contract In Major League Soccer, in addition to the senior roster, each team can carry a developmental roster of a certain number of young players whose contracts do not count against the salary cap. The allowable size of developmental rosters has varied t ...

, making two appearances and playing a total of ten minutes. In his second season Graham was given significantly more playing time, playing as both a right back and central defender. After a season in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

when he played every minute for the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club w ...

, led his team to the title, and was named USL Defender of the Year, Graham was acquired by the MetroStars, now

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. He was released midway through the 2007 season and signed with his former club

. He then signed with

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

, a continuation of the Sounders in Major League Soccer. On May 26, 2010 he had his first appearance of the 2010 season in a friendly against

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

of Argentina, playing the full 90 minutes and putting up a solid performance. Graham announced his retirement on December 2, 2011, after he was dropped from the roster by the Seattle Sounders.

International

Graham represented

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

in three international friendlies (including the team’s first win in 14 years) during early 2008. The national team coach Colin Clarke had misunderstood the requirements to play for Puerto Rican national side following a change to the eligibility criteria. Previously, all U.S. citizens were eligible for Puerto Rico national teams, but now the player pool is restricted to players who have lived on the island for at least five years, meaning that Graham is no longer eligible for the Puerto Rico national team per federation rules.

International goals

Honors

Kansas City Wizards

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

(1):

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

Western Conference Championship (1):

Seattle Sounders

Championship (2):

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Commissioner's Cup (1):

Seattle Sounders FC

(3):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Television

Graham appeared on ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

'' on June 24, 2009. In the showcase he spoke on one of the prizes which was a vacation to Seattle, to go to any 2 home games of Seattle Sounders and watch them play.

Personal life

After retiring as a player, Taylor Graham became Director of Business Operations for his former club, Seattle Sounders FC.

References

External links

*
Seattle Sounders bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Taylor 1980 births Living people American soccer players Sporting Kansas City players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players New York Red Bulls players Seattle Sounders FC players Stanford Cardinal men's soccer players USL First Division players Major League Soccer players Puerto Rico international footballers People from Fair Oaks, California Soccer players from California Sporting Kansas City draft picks Major League Soccer broadcasters Association football defenders Puerto Rican footballers Sportspeople from Sacramento County, California Seattle Sounders FC non-playing staff