Email coach
Taylor Clarke
Just the third head coach in the program's 30-year history, Taylor Clarke will lead the next chapter of Eagles soccer. He is entering his second season ahead of the 2025-26 academic year.
Clarke and crew went 7-6-5 in 2024, falling just shy of the MAC Tournament with a 3-3-5 mark in MAC play. Goalkeeper Ella Holland and the Eagles allowed just 14 goals, tied for the fewest in program history (excludes 2021 spring COVID-impacted season). The Eagles also excelled off the pitch, equaling the MAC soccer record with 18 student-athletes named Academic All-MAC.
Clarke has served in various roles in collegiate soccer since his graduation, including assistant coach for women's and men's programs, associate head coach at a fellow Mid-American Conference institution, and head coach at two different schools. Despite the position and division, all 10 squads he has worked with have advanced to their respective conference tournaments, including nine appearances in the semifinals, including four championship match appearances, and two titles won.
Prior to joining the Eagles, Clarke spent the 2023 season as the head coach of Carroll University, an NCAA Division III institution in Waukesha, Wis. During his lone season at the helm of the program, the Pioneers posted an 11-6-3 record and advanced to the finals of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament, earning a runner-up finish. Individually, two Pioneers were named United Soccer Coaches Division III All-Region Second Team after both were tabbed All-CCIW First Team. Academically, seven of Clarke's student-athletes earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors as well.
Ahead of his head coaching stop at Carroll, Clarke spent two seasons serving as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for Bowling Green State University. During his two seasons (2021-22), the Falcons posted 20 total wins and advanced to the MAC Tournament twice. A defender by trade, Clarke led a BGSU defensive corps in 2022 that allowed just six goals in 13 total matches against MAC opposition, with nine shutouts in those 13 contests. The Falcons outscored MAC foes, 17-2, over the final month of play (Oct. 7 to Nov. 7, spanning seven regular-season and the two tournament matches).
The 2021 regular season champions, BGSU went on to win the MAC Tournament on its home turf and earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament, where the Falcons fell on the road in the first round at No. 8 Michigan. That season saw Madi Wolfbauer named MAC Offensive Player of the Year. Audrey Shea and Nikki Cox joined her on the all-conference first team, while goalkeeper Lili Berg was named to the All-MAC Second-Team. Lacee Bethea was named the MAC Tournament MVP, with Nikki Cox, Shea, and Wolfbauer joining her on the MAC's All-Tournament Team. Shea and Katie Cox earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, and Wolfbauer and Nikki Cox were named to the USC All-Midwest Region Team. BGSU had a whopping 14 student-athletes named to the 2021 Academic All-MAC Team, and Nikki Cox was named a Scholar All-American by the United Soccer Coaches. Six different Falcons earned end-of-season honors from the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association (OCSA).
Before joining the Falcons, Clarke served as the head coach at Ashland University, leading the program for three seasons (2018-20). During that time, he led the Eagles to an overall record of 32-12-7 (.696) including guiding the Eagles to NCAA Division II postseason appearances in both 2018 and 2019.
The 2021 spring season (the 2020 season was played in the spring of 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic) saw Clarke and the Eagles finish 8-2-1 overall and 7-1-1 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play. Among the eight wins was a 2-1 victory at Grand Valley State, the program's first against the Lakers in 16 years. In 2019, the Eagles finished 14-5-1 overall and 7-2 in the GLIAC. Ashland reached the NCAA Division II postseason for the second year in a row. Guiding the Eagles for the first time in 2018, Clarke's charges went 10-5-5 overall and 4-2-3 in the GLIAC, as Ashland qualified for a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time since 2004.
Clarke, who got his coaching start as an assistant coach with Ashland (2014-15), returned to Ashland after serving as the assistant men's soccer coach at Calvin (Mich.) College in 2017. He helped the Knights to a 21-1-1 record and a berth in the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen. Clarke coached three All-Americans, five all-region and 10 all-conference players as Calvin won conference regular season and tournament championships. The Knights led the nation in scoring (85 goals) and shutouts (15). Clarke spent the 2016 season as assistant men's soccer coach at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, helping the Seahawks garner a top 20 NCAA Division I national ranking.
Following his graduation, Clarke joined the staff at Ashland, working with a program that posted a combined 26-11-1 record in that span. In the two years he spent with the Eagles, AU advanced to the semifinals of the GLIAC Tournament twice, advancing to the tournament final in 2015.
Clarke played collegiate soccer at Saginaw Valley State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in educational history in 2014. He helped the Cardinals to two GLIAC championships and a Midwest Regional championship, captaining the 2012 squad to the NCAA Division II national championship game. Clarke was a three-year team captain and was named to the GLIAC All-Academic team four times. He finished his career with 10 points on four goals and two assists while starting all 76 matches he played.
Clarke, and his wife, Sidney, have one son, Porter. Sidney, a native of Saline, Mich., played four seasons of collegiate volleyball at Lake Erie College, the last three under current EMU Head Coach Kevin Foeman. She was a member of the winningest senior class in Lake Erie history, as the Storm leaped from three wins in her freshman season to 26 when she was a senior.
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