Taylor Culp will be entering his second season as an assistant coach with the Elon University women's soccer team in fall 2021, working mainly with the goalkeepers under head coach Neil Payne. He previously served as a volunteer assistant coach on the Elon men's soccer staff from August 2019-20.
Last season, Culp helped guide the maroon and gold to a 9-6-2 record, including a pair of overtime victories against Northeastern (2-1) and a #23/25 Hofstra (2-1). For their performance during the regular season, Kayla Hodges, Carson Jones and Makenzie DePriest-Kessler were tabbed all-conference honorees. Hodges was a first-team selection, Jones was second team and DePriest-Kessler was third team.
During the historic spring 2021 season, Culp assisted in leading the Phoenix to its first-ever Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship title and second appearance in the NCAA Division I Championship. Entering the CAA Championship as the No. 2 seed in the South Division with a 4-3 regular-season record, Elon first defeated the nationally-ranked top seed in the North Division, Hofstra, for the first time in program history (1-0). The maroon and gold then went on to outlast UNCW in the finals (1-0) to earn the championship crown. Over the course of the season, the Phoenix registered six shutouts, with four of them coming against conference opponents (Charleston, William & Mary, Hofstra and UNCW). Elon's backline also held both the Dukes and Cougars to no shots on goal. Four players earned all-conference honors for their performances in the regular season, Carson Jones (second team), Kayla Hodges (second team), Makenzie DePriest-Kessler (third team) and Katie Lowe (all-rookie team). Goalkeeper McKenna Dalfonso (6-4) also led the conference in save percentage (.842), goals-against average (.491) and shutouts (6).
Prior to Elon, Culp served as the goalkeeper coach with the Penn women's soccer team in 2018. While with the Quakers, Culp helped the team's goalkeeper unit ranked first in the country in goals-against average, clean sheet percentage and save percentage. The starting goalkeeper was also named the Ivy League's Goalkeeper of the Year and was a second team All-Region choice under his tutelage as Penn won the 2018 Ivy League championship.
Culp also served as the goalkeeper's coach at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Bronx, N.Y., during the spring of 2018. Additionally, he has held similar posts at the United Soccer Academy and Matchfit Academy.
On the field, Culp helped lead Saint Joseph's High School in Metuchen, N.J. to back-to-back state championship appearances, before attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2016, he made his move to Montclair State, in which he helped the Red Hawks to the NJAC championship and reached the NCAA Tournament for the 11th straight season.
At the club level, Culp currently serves as the director of goalkeeping at NC Fusion ECNL in Greensboro, N.C.
A native of Piscataway, N.J., Culp graduated from Montclair State University with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology.
