Shannon Taylor
	Position: Assistant Coach Experience: Second Year Alma Mater: Syracuse '08

Syracuse graduate and current U.S. National Team member Shannon Taylor served her first season as an assistant coach for UMass Field Hockey in 2012. In addition to helping improve the UMass field hockey offense, Taylor continues to compete internationally and served as a key member of Team USA's 2012 London Olympics roster.

"I am extremely honored and excited to become a part of a great athletic and academic program at UMass," said Taylor. "I am thankful for the opportunity and eager to learn from the experiences of Carla and Roz to help further educate our student-athletes on and off the field."

With 71 caps to her credit, Taylor comes to UMass with a wealth of international experience, having been involved with the U.S. National program since 2006 when she was selected to play for the U.S. U21 squad and was invited to participate in USA Field Hockey's High Performance Training program. Taylor was first named to the U.S. Women's Development squad in 2009 and then subsequently named to the U.S. Women's National Team in 2010. She helped the 2011 Pan American Team to their first-ever gold medal with a first-place finish in Guadalajara, Mexico, thus qualifying the team for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

"Shannon's experience playing on the international level and at an Olympic Games will be exceedingly valuable to our program," said Tagliente. "She is highly competitive and knows what it takes to win at the highest level. As a player, she was one of the most prolific goal scorers at the collegiate level and her penalty corner shot is arguably the best in the country. We continually strive to provide the very best opportunities and resources for our student-athletes and the addition of Shannon to the current staff supports that endeavor. We feel very fortunate to have Shannon on board, and we wish her the best in the upcoming London Olympics."

After beginning her collegiate career at Richmond, Taylor transferred to Syracuse where she earned Longstreth/NFHCA Division I All-America First Team, WomensFieldHockey.com All-America First Team and All-BIG EAST First Team honors as a senior in 2008. Taylor led the nation in goals (31) and points (79) in her final year of collegiate competition and was a finalist for the Honda Broderick Cup.