A broken leg as a sophomore. A coaching change. The first national tournament win in program history. Taylor Slaymaker has experienced all of those things during an eventful career with the Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Soccer program. Four years into life as a Bulldog, Slaymaker contemplates how each circumstance has impacted her growth and development as a soccer player and person.
At least not yet, Slaymaker isn’t contemplating the end of this particular journey. After saying goodbye to the classmates that joined her at Concordia beginning in the fall of 2021, the Kearney native looks forward to making use of a redshirt and soaking up one more collegiate season.
As Slaymaker sat sidelined by injury in 2022, the wheels began turning in regard to a potential extended stay. “Honestly, right away,” said Slaymaker of when she started thinking about playing beyond graduation. “I thought, if that’s an option, I’d like to do that. Junior and senior year really confirmed it with the seasons that we had. I love the community. There wasn’t any other school that I would like to play for.”
Without that broken leg suffered in game No. 2 of the 2022 season, Slaymaker likely wouldn’t be talking about the lofty expectations that will greet her and her teammates this ’25 season. Call it a classic example of a blessing in disguise. The return of a First Team All-GPAC center back is a major win for Head Coach Nick Smith and a program that is confident that it will continue its rise this fall. With an Elementary Education degree in hand and 62 college games of experience under her belt, Slaymaker is older, wiser and as focused and determined as ever.
Smith and company believe that the best is yet to come. During a historic run in 2024, Slaymaker set the tone for a back line that found a groove late in the season with six-straight shutouts that led into an appearance in the GPAC Championship Game. For her work, Slaymaker was named to the league’s first team along with fellow Bulldogs in Kierstynn Garner and Niah Kirchner. When GPAC Defensive Player of the Year Grace Soenksen graduated following the ’23 season, Slaymaker stepped up her game.
“Taylor is one of the prototypical players that coaches look for,” Smith said. “She’s someone who wants to receive coaching. She wants feedback and she’s willing to try things. The relationship we’ve built is one of the major reasons Taylor has decided to come back. The more comfortable that she gets, the more we expect her to be a first team all-conference level player. I’m excited to have her come back and to work with the class we have coming in. Taylor is going to be a large part of the success that we’ll have this coming fall.”
As a film junkie who closely studies and charts every touch of the ball, Smith would know. Slaymaker has rifled through the binders Smith keeps (with notes on each of his players). In a world where mainstream statistics provide very little insight into the performance of a center back, these detailed statistics show a clearer picture of Slaymaker. Any mistakes made are documented – but those are becoming increasingly fewer and farther between for Slaymaker. In an endearing way, Slaymaker calls her head coach a “psycho” when it comes to the numbers.
Slaymaker and Smith have worked together in a mutually beneficial relationship that has helped propel Concordia Women’s Soccer to new heights. Slaymaker and her teammates will never forget what occurred on November 21, 2024. On a cool and overcast fall day in Grand Rapids, Mich., the Bulldogs stifled Benedictine College, 2-0, in the first round of the national tournament. The postgame scene was one of pure jubilation on the part of that underdog team from Seward.
“It was a surreal feeling,” Slaymaker said. “Nick even said, ‘You guys probably aren’t going to understand how important this was until you’re a lot older.’ In the moment, it was a surreal feeling. That nationals game, we went into it thinking whatever happens happens. We didn’t have anything to lose. Honestly, we were the underdogs. We all played our hearts out and it was probably one of the best feelings that I’ve ever felt.”
The mountaintop moment completely wiped out the literal pain and mental anguish Slaymaker experienced as a sophomore. In an early September 2022 trip to Hillsboro, Kan., Slaymaker went down with an injury she hoped to be only minor. Having never previously broken a bone, she thought maybe she had sprained her left leg. At the time, she expected to return in the second half – until she realized she couldn’t walk.
“I had to watch all the girls play the sport that I loved,” Slaymaker said. “You feel less involved because I’m not actually out on the field. That’s where a lot of the bonding happens with the team. Getting back into things was also really tough because I was out of shape. This leg wasn’t as strong. They took the boot off and my calf was like ‘this’ big. I was like, ‘great.’ That was tough.”
A tremendous group of freshmen on that ’22 team helped Concordia finish the season at 10-6-2 overall, but it would have been better with Slaymaker on the field. As her rehab continued into the offseason, a major change hit the program. In March of 2023, Smith was announced as head coach, paving the way for a new era for Bulldog Women’s Soccer. It meant that Slaymaker, fresh off injury, would have to prove herself once again.
In the small sample of film that Smith viewed of Slaymaker, he quickly saw her potential. Slaymaker immediately reclaimed a starting role in 2023. However, she admits that it wasn’t until the 13th game of the season (a 1-0 win at Jamestown) that she fully regained confidence in her left leg and put behind the fear of suffering another injury. Over Slaymaker’s junior and senior seasons, Concordia went a combined 27-11-4.
“The spring (of 2023) was rough,” Slaymaker explained. “That was me trying to get back into shape and playing on it the first time. The game at Jamestown when we beat them my junior year was when I started to feel like I was myself again. Up until that point, I was playing and doing fine again, but I was having a lot of confidence issues. I was worried about re-injuring it. The Jamestown game was the game where I feel like everything clicked. I let everything go and just played how I know I can play. I didn’t worry about everything.”
It helped that Slaymaker was surrounded by the people she calls her “best friends in the world.” Among them are fellow classmates such as Lilley Barber, Emily Howard, Senna McMullen and Molly Roberts. It was Roberts, a club teammate, who encouraged Slaymaker to take a look at Concordia in the recruiting process. Though she grew up in Kearney, Slaymaker knew little about what Concordia had to offer.
“When I got here, I got to know the professors and the community,” Slaymaker said. “It was like, ‘Yeah, this is the place where I want to be.’ It’s very family-oriented with a small community where everyone knows everyone. It’s something I really love. Soccer-wise, I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t planning on playing a bunch. I wanted to play, but I was a freshman, so whatever. I worked really hard and came to love the girls and the team and the culture.”
While some of her best friends have moved on, the culture and a winning environment remain firmly in place. Slaymaker has connected with the classes that have come behind her, including the 2025-26 group of seniors that features another Kearney High School alum in prolific goal scorer Kierstynn Garner. When Garner was in the process of making her college decision, Slaymaker didn’t hesitate to provide her own input. She wanted Garner here.
Here is where Slaymaker has found her second home. Here is where she’ll play one more year, supplying another round of thrills. Slaymaker will take one more shot at winning a GPAC championship and perhaps an even deeper run at the national tournament. Along the way, parents Bob and Kiley will be there with a loving presence felt both personally and via social media (ready to repost everything Concordia Women’s Soccer!). Taylor’s mother even joked that the family (including Taylor’s brothers Jackson and Nixon) is planning a December vacation to Florida, home to the NAIA National Championship final site.
Smith isn’t dodging such aspirations. For now, he’s simply glad to have Taylor back. Said the Bulldog head coach, “There’s never been a moment where I’ve questioned Taylor’s decision to come back. She’s really committed to it. Even though some of her best friends graduated out of the program and are moving on in life, Taylor made the right decision for her. She’s really looking forward to one last go in the program.”
With Slaymaker back, the Bulldogs are dreaming big. Said the future elementary school teacher, “I want to enjoy this last year. We want to win GPAC. That’s obviously a goal for us. It’s my last opportunity to do it.”