LSU sophomore forward Summer Clarke set the bar for her collegiate career pretty high after her freshman season in 2013.
The All-Southeastern Conference performer fired off a team-leading 10 goals in her rookie season — the most for an LSU freshman since 2003. Three of Clarke’s strikes were game-winners — another leading statistic — and she added three assists for 23 total points.
But Clarke, who’s already poured in seven goals this season, has proved her first season in Baton Rouge was no fluke. Once a talented-but- inexperienced prospect searching for her niche in the college ranks, Clarke has developed into the Tigers’ most complete player on the pitch.
“Summer’s high-end ceiling is to be one of the best players in college soccer,” said LSU soccer coach Brian Lee. “She’s an elite, elite athlete. She’s fast, can jump high and is very strong. Technically, she’s very good. She’s two-footed. She can do a lot of different things. I think she would be an unbelievable outside defender. The sky’s really the limit for Summer.”
Lee isn’t the only one to take notice of Clarke’s advancement on the field. Fellow sophomore Emma Fletcher, who also earned All-SEC status as a freshman last season, said she’s seen Clarke’s desire for greatness grow in the past year.
“She’s just a lot more motivated because she trained all summer long,” Fletcher said. “When Summer wants to win and play well, she’s amazing. Even when she’s not super inspired, she still plays amazing.”
For Clarke, becoming more familiar with the speed of the college game has been paramount to her development into a more well-rounded player.
“When I came in, I knew it would be faster and quicker and I would have to be fit,” Clarke said. “But getting that under my belt at the end of the season helped me know how fast and fit I needed to be, and it pushed me over the summer to do better.”
Clarke’s drive to improve in the offseason has paid off for the sophomore goal-scorer, and she’s enjoyed a much more efficient offensive season than her All-SEC freshman campaign.
Clarke’s team-leading seven goals this season have come on a mere 29 shots, which ranks third on the club. She needed 52 cracks at the goal to reach the same mark as a freshman. If Clarke’s current .241-shot percentage holds for the rest of the season, it’d be the highest for mark for an LSU-leading scorer since 2010.
Clarke credits her fitness training in the offseason for her much-improved play, but she said sometimes her momentum carries her through the exhausting matches.
“Just having that extra 10 yards in you to run up for a goal is important, but a lot of it for me is adrenaline,” Clarke said. “I don’t feel it until after I’ve done the sprint. After I do it, I’ll sometimes wonder how I did it. But it just all kind of goes along with the game.”
However, Clarke’s savvy in the attack hasn’t been limited to just pouring in goals.
The Canadian has tallied three assists so far this season, already matching her output from a year ago, and she’s involved a number of her teammates in the process. Each of Clarke’s assists resulted in a score for three Tiger players — an example of the chemistry that develops as teammates become more acquainted with one another.
“I’ve played with people like Emma, [sophomore defender] Megan [Lee] and [junior forward] Fernanda [Piña] for a year now, so I’m used to how they move and how they run,” Clarke said. “It was important for me to catch onto how people are running because their runs determine how I play the ball. So just getting used to playing with them is what’s helping a lot.”
Having scored the fourth-most goals in the SEC, Clarke is almost assuredly a lock for all-conference recognition for the second consecutive season. But Brian said his star player has the ability to become even more distinguished when her time at the University is over.
“She has the potential to become an All-American type of player,” he said.
You can contact David Gray on Twitter @dgray_TDR.