Kamloops kid ‘Clarkie’ gets ready for one last ride at Hillside Stadium with the WolfPack

“I think it’s a real testament to Clarkie specifically, and her character,” Head Coach Mark Pennington says. “A kid that’s come from KYSA and possessed some unbelievable attributes. She stuck at it. She came in and really worked hard for three years before she started seeing a minute.”

Now in her fourth year of eligibility, Clark will leave the program with her name written all over the record books. She’s scored five game-winning goals, third all-time with five assists and fourth in goals scored with six. Despite that success, Clark remains humble about her journey.

“At the beginning, I didn’t play much,” Clark says. “I just kind of worked my way, gained some confidence and improved on the field.”

Luckily, teammates Ainsley Grether and Anika Black have all the hype for the player affectionately dubbed ‘Clarkie.’

“Not many people walk on to a university program and leave such an impact, leave records,” Grether says. “That girl just came in here and absolutely kicked the door down.”

“She is such a big leader,” Black says. “She’s not very vocal, she just leads by example. She’s someone I look up to, everyone on this team looks up to.”

For Pennington, Clark’s USPORTS career is the perfect example of patience and hard work paying off.

“She’s earned it. She’s worked at it and she’s such a good kid. She’s the hardest working kid that I’ve come across,” Penington says. “I think it’s a real lesson for many players that come into this level that you might not get the immediate results that you want to see, the instant success. You’ve got to work hard at it.”

Both WolfPack soccer teams will face off against their rivals, the Okanagan Heat, on Friday night. For Clark, it would be great to see the fans come out and support the teams.

“It would mean a lot,” Clark says.

She’ll let her play on the field say the rest.

by Adam Donnelly

Kamloops kid ‘Clarkie’ gets ready for one last ride at Hillside Stadium with the WolfPack

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