Taylor was born in California to parents, Gary and Jennifer Taylor. She attended Castilleja School in her hometown of Palo Alto, California where she was a two-time NSCAA All-American and a four-year letterwinner. Taylor was named 2007 Parade Magazine All-American but did not play high school soccer. Instead, she played for the club team, Mountain View-Los Altos Mercury and won three consecutive Cal-North State Cup titles.
Taylor attended Stanford University where she broke the school record for most games started in a career and is tied with teammate Teresa Noyola for most games played at 102. Taylor is ranked number five on Stanford's all-time scoring list with 133 points, number four on Stanford's all-time goals list with 53, and number seven on Stanford's all-time assist list with 27. She is Stanford's school record-holder in career shots with 349.
In 2012, Taylor was selected as the first pick by the Western New York Flash in the 2012 WPS Draft; however, the league folded before the season began. She did not play with the Flash in the 2012 WPSL Elite season, instead playing for the WPSL's California Storm with former Stanford teammates, Teresa Noyola and Rachel Quon.
Taylor signed with the Seattle Reign FC as a free agent for the inaugural season of the NWSL. After recovering from an eye injury during the first few games of the season, Taylor made her debut for the team in a match against Sky Blue FC on May 11, 2013. She scored her first goal during the squad's subsequent match against the Washington Spirit on May 16, 2013 at Starfire Stadium. During a friendly match against the Haiti national team, she scored a hat trick helping lead the Reign to a 6–0 win. Taylor made six appearances for the Reign during the regular season and scored one goal before being traded mid-season to the Washington Spirit.
Washington Spirit
On July 1, 2013, it was announced that Taylor was traded to the Washington Spirit along with a "conditional fourth round pick" in the 2014 NWSL College Draft for the Spirit's second round pick.
International
In 2006, Taylor represented the United States as a member of the U-17 team. She was called into the United States U-23 camps in October 2011 and May 2012.
