By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher Today is a big day in the life of former Oakcrest soccer star Rachel Taylor. She’s boarding a plane for the first time in her life. Taylor and the rest of her Rowan University soccer teammates are en route to Costa Rica for an 8-day preseason trip that will have them not only playing soccer, but hanging out on pristine beaches and ziplining through the rain forest. The Profs will train every day and be involved in three exhibition games, but the trip is as much about team bonding and educational experiences as it is about soccer. “Normally (the preseason) would be like two or three weeks of two-a-days, but this year we’re going to Costa Rica. It will make it a longer preseason, but it will be a lot of fun,” said Taylor, who was a standout midfielder and fullback during her days at Oakcrest High School before graduating in 2012. 
Rachel Taylor, a 2012 Oakcrest High School graduate, is a rising junior on the Rowan University women’s soccer team. (Photo courtesy Rachel Taylor) Taylor said what makes this trip unique is that no one on the current roster has been on one of these preseason trips before. The Profs were supposed to go in 2012, but that trip was cancelled. “It’s a trip that’s usually every four years so that every class gets to go at least once. They were actually supposed to go my freshman year but our coach’s wife was pregnant so we couldn’t go down there. It’s been a while since the team has gone to Costa Rica, so everybody is really excited,” Taylor said. “Nobody who is on the current team has ever been there before, so it will be a new experience for everyone. We’ll be spending a couple days in San Jose and the next couple of days in the rain forest and another two or three days at the beach. We’re going to visit an orphanage and visit with the kids down there and play some soccer with them, we’re going to go ziplining through the rain forest. I’m really excited. We had a group chat and we had a countdown going.” Taylor said she believes the trip will be a great team bonding experience, and hopes it will propel the Profs to an outstanding season that includes a deep run in the NCAA tournament. “There’s definitely a lot I’m excited for. Playing soccer against girls from other countries, and just experiencing different cultures and seeing how different people live,” Taylor said. “I think it will make our team stronger. We get an extra two weeks to train together so hopefully that will work to our advantage. We’ve always come close to winning the NJAC, we make the playoffs every year but we haven’t won the NJAC since 2008. The last time Rowan made it to the (NCAA) Sweet 16 was the last time they went to Costa Rica (in the preseason).” Adding to the excitement is the fervor there is for soccer in Costa Rica, especially considering how well its men’s national team did at the recent World Cup in Brazil, making it through to the knockout rounds. “I was watching Costa Rica (in the World Cup). They were in a group with Italy and England and I don’t think anybody expected them to make it as far as they did. It’s going to be crazy down there,” Taylor said. “I was watching the World Cup games and they were showing the live feeds (from Costa Rica) and I was like, oh, my God, I’m going to be there!” Taylor said she will have to brush up on her Spanish, which she may do during the long plane ride. And despite never having flown before, she said she isn’t all that nervous. “I’m actually more excited than scared. My dad said it’s not a big deal, it’s just like a bus in the sky,” Taylor said. The Profs will be in Costa Rica from today through Aug. 13 before returning to New Jersey to prepare for their 2014 season opener. They get started Aug. 30 against York (Pa.) College in the Attack of the Lion Tournament in Reading, Pa. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]
Former Oakcrest soccer star Rachel Taylor on her way to Costa Rica
