Email coach
Danielle Taylor
Danielle (Seling) Taylor heads into her tenth year as the head coach at Elizabethtown in 2022-23
Despite a tough season in 2021 for the Blue Jays, on the academic side, the team churned out a program-record nine IWLCA All-Academic Individuals in 2021. Additionally, for the fourth time under Taylor, Elizabethtown was also named to the organization's Academic Squad for posting a team GPA of 3.2 or higher.
Taylor had four all-conference selections in 2019, the third consecutive season in which the Blue Jays had at least four players selected as an All-Landmark honoree. Madelyn Baker, Olivia Beachley, Lexie Sharp, and Kate Ziegler each were Second Team selections for Etown.
2018 didn't end in the same way as 2017, with a postseason berth, but Taylor watched her senior midfielder, Katie Thompson, turn in one of the best seasons in program history. Thompson tied the program's assists mark (63), and had the most ground balls, draw controls, and caused turnovers by any Blue Jay player all-time in one season. Thompson finished out her career as the program's all-time leader in assists (136), ground balls (205, and draw controls (201). She was an easy choice for First Team All-Landmark in the midfield and earned the Player of the Year honors, the first special award for a Taylor-coached player. Carly Thompson (attack), Madelyn Baker (attack), and Kate Ziegler (midfield) were also all-conference selections as each made the Second Team.
2017 marked the fourth straight season Elizabethtown upped the win total, this time to 11 and qualified for the postseason for the first time under Taylor. E-town finished third in the Landmark with a 4-2 league record, 11-5 overall, led by her four all-conference players. Katie Thompson was placed on the First Team, while Addie Stang, Becky Graessle, and Olivia Beachley were all Second Team selections.
Taylor's 2015 team won five games and proved competitive in a number of contests. E-town opened the season with back-to-back wins over Hood and Rutgers-Camden and could have been right around .500 with a few breaks late in close games. The Jays improved to 7-9 as the upward trajectory under Taylor continued.
Stang flourished under Taylor, scoring a career-high 51 goals, 10th most in a season in Blue Jay history. Stang became Taylor's first All-Landmark Conference First Team selection. Overall, Taylor has coached three all-conference players in as many seasons.
On the surface, E-town's 5-9 record doesn't tell the whole story of the giant steps the program took in 2015. Taylor spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons on former coach Mike Faith's staff as an assistant coach when the Blue Jays were regularly one of the top 20 programs in NCAA Division III. Elizabethtown advanced to the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) championship game in 2009 and won its first conference title in 2010.
The situation was far different in 2014 when Taylor returned to serve as interim head coach. She was tasked with rebuilding the roster and transitioning Elizabethtown into the Landmark Conference. Instead of coaching a group that won the 2013 Commonwealth Conference championship, Taylor had to start from the bottom with no returning players and used a grass roots approach to put a team on the field.
The Blue Jays entered the season without a single game of collegiate playing experience, but managed to produce a pair of 20-goal scorers in Stang (25) and Dana Robidoux (21).
Persistence and dedication finally paid off for Taylor's 2014 team on April 12, when they knocked off Merchant Marine, 12-8, for their first win of the season and first ever Landmark Conference victory.
On June 13, 2014, the College dropped Taylor's interim tag, officially naming her the fifth head coach in program history. "Elizabethtown is an attractive college because of its unwavering standard of excellence academically and athletically," said Taylor.
Taylor got her start in coaching at Elizabethtown as an assistant under Faith. The Blue Jays went 16-3 and reached their second Middle Atlantic Conference championship game during her first season on the sidelines. The team's .842 winning percentage was a high mark in its 15-year history.
In 2010, E-town won its first MAC Championship in dominating fashion, 11-4, over FDU-Florham on its home turf at Wolf Field. The Jays completed the regular season with an unblemished 12-0 record in league play. They went on to win their first NCAA Division III Tournament game, 13-12, over No. 14 Washington & Lee, before bowing out in the second round against 19th-ranked Mary Washington.
Elizabethtown amassed 32 wins (32-8) and were unbeaten in 23 league games during Taylor's two seasons as an assistant.
Taylor, a native of Whiteford, Md., was a three-year letter-winner at York (Pa.) College, where she played on the Spartans' inaugural team in 2006. After two seasons as Elizabethtown's assistant coach, she earned her first head coaching job at Susquehannock High School. Taylor led the Warriors to District 3 Tournament appearances in back-to-back seasons. In 2013, Taylor returned to her alma mater as an assistant to Jen Muston.
Taylor also has club coaching experience with the Green Turtle Lacrosse Club (Bel Air, Md.). The club won the Turtlefest Tournament twice in addition to winning the American Showcase Tournament in 2010.
Taylor resides in Shrewsbury with her husband Blake and their three children: daughter Aubree and sons Owen and Brady.
show more