The story of UC Irvine women's soccer could not be told without Tanya Taylor. A key member of the memorable 2010 squad, part of the duo along with CoCo Goodson to bring home the first All-American honors, and a staple across the Anteater record books showcasing her four years of accomplishments.

One of those records came during that magical run in her senior season. The team totaled up 19 wins, 49 goals, and 54 assists along the way, and Tanya had a lot to do with that. She scored 11 of those goals and assisted on 12, the first and only Anteater with 10 of each in a single season. An accomplishment that goes far beyond the pitch for Taylor who has continued to reach new heights in multiple areas of her life.

Her route to UC Irvine was an exciting time as Taylor remembers. "Both of my parents were extremely involved in my soccer life in club and high school. I was recruited pretty early on by many different colleges – USC, Arizona, and UCI being some of the top ones. I really didn't know much about UCI, but the coach at the time April Heinrichs I knew of."

Heinrichs' reputable career path from her work with the national team caught Taylor's eye. She soon met the assistant coach, Scott Juniper, on her visit and made up her mind on being an Anteater.

"I thought I could learn from her, but she ending up leaving late in the recruiting process and before our class actually got there. I was still excited about going to UCI and its great education and opportunities, living by the beach, all the girls on the team were so great."

A very chaotic time in any high schooler's life is deciding where to further their education. Taylor knew to what to look for and saw a great opportunity with Heinrichs, but even when that was uprooted, she was still validated in her decision.

"I lucked out because Scott is one of the best coaches I've ever had. It was his natural ability to just elevate my game to another level, and we connected from day one. I don't know that I'm necessarily the easiest to coach, so I was appreciative to have him. Even though it was kind of a stinger to get that news as you're about to start college, I tried to make a more well-rounded decision. Scott was a good fit for me. Our 2011 class ended up being very strong. I built a bond with those girls that I've yet to with anyone since. We're all still pretty tight knit."

Strong was an understatement as the team took off in the next four years with Taylor in the mix. The team picked up steam every year until her senior year when it exploded for a program-record 19 wins, streaks of 14 straight wins and 17 unbeaten, a Big West regular season title, and the program's first berth in the NCAA Tournament. It didn't stop there picking up wins in its first two matches
dropping household names like Arizona State and Wake Forest before ending their run in a double-overtime thriller against Washington in the Sweet Sixteen.

"I have similar fond memories, many of which do not involve the actual games. Overall, what I take from that season is just the bond between girls. Our dancing game we used to play in the locker room before games, it was just a silly game that would get us all in the mood and pumped and ready to play. You just can't pay for those experiences. It was just so much fun. Those are the best years ever, I would do anything to go back to college and play those Friday night or Sunday morning games."

She topped it off with an All-American honor, the first of the program's history. The first two actually as her teammate, CoCo Goodson, also garnered the honor.

"I know they always call the student-athletes a student first, but I feel like athletics was just such a defining and important time and aspect of my college experience."

Taylor wasn't a pushover in the student department either. She was an Academic All-District recipient and UCI Athletics' prized Lauds and Laurels honoree.

"I came in to UCI undecided and undeclared. I declared my sophomore year in criminology. When my long-term aspirations of playing or coaching were gone, the routes of social work or law school were open. It's doesn't really matter what your degree is in, but at the time, not knowing very many lawyers, I wanted to go down that route."

She graduated in the spring of 2011, and continued down the soccer route for a while. First off, she was taken in the WPS Draft, a first for the program, by the Boston Breakers which lasted only a month or two. Taylor continued to play here and there joining up with the Haitian women's national team for a time while they practiced in Indiana, and then a couple years with the OC Waves in the WPSL that resulted in a national championship. She had some aspirations to play overseas, but really looked into how to start her career here.

"I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I didn't see myself becoming a coach. I definitely did not know that I wanted to be an attorney. I knew I wanted to pursue higher education, but I didn't have like the vision of specializing in a certain PhD or master's program or specialty. I knew a JD was much higher of a degree while also more general."

Taylor got some timely advice from the UCI Athletics department showing that a JD was an option to have and still have the flexibility to go down a path she liked.

"I decided then to pursue this degree to have the flexibility to one day change career paths or not practice law altogether, but not have to go back to school. In addition, you could go in-house counsel, litigator, transactional attorney, there's so many different facets of law which attracted me to it."

Right in Taylor's wheelhouse – being able to excel in multiple fields, much like scoring and assisting. Her mind was made up, and she decided to take the LSAT and return to UCI to attend law school. Once through that program, Taylor joined the firm of Ballard Spahr which she is still part of today.

"I'm a general litigator, but I do a lot of consumer finance and defense work. I'm also involved at times with commercial litigation, everything from breach of contract to tort claims. I'm generally slotted as a general litigator, but I do specialize in those areas. I've been doing that since I started in Los Angeles and continued now in the New York office."

Taylor joined up with the Philadelphia-based company working out of the Los Angeles office the first four years until recently when she made a big move.

"I moved out to New York in January of this year, sat for the February bar, passed it, and now my admission is pending in New York, but soon I'm hoping to be barred in both New Yorrk and California."

The assist and the goal, all in one. Taylor's flexibility and legal athleticism paying off for her as she takes on her new endeavors in New York.

"I picked the weirdest time to move to New York," she chuckled, "but I'm just trying to take it day-by-day."

Staying in touch with her teammates, coach Juniper, and tuned in with what's happening with UC Irvine soccer is one way she keeps sane.

"I stay as involved as I can. Especially moving to the east coast, it's harder even now to follow. Sometimes the games are at impossible times. Even when I lived in Los Angeles, to make it from L.A. to the game with traffic was a chore. My dad is extremely connected still to the program and has been since I became part of it. He will still go to games now that I'm not playing."

Taylor is locked in to the program and religiously follows what Scott and the staff are cooking up next, ready for the next late-night game to start.

"I'm just happy and proud to be part of the program. Even talking about it now it's so fun to go down memory lane because it's that exciting."

It's one thing that brings her joy in the uncertainty that has surrounded her life like many others. Trying to run things in a normal scenario is enough for Taylor to tackle, but throw in a new city, new office mates, a whole new set of law to adhere to, testing her flexibility to shape the future that she saw from her student-athlete days at UC Irvine.

"I never think that I have accomplished enough, and don't like feeling stagnant, so my career will keep evolving. Right now, I am trying to integrate into the New York office, meet partners and other attorneys, and further my career in the legal field. But stay tuned because I'm sure I'll have a different answer in six months."