Mike Clark (born December 16, 1972, in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

) is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

defender who spent eight seasons with the Columbus Crew in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. Clark was born in

. He attended Detroit Country Day High School and was a

Parade Magazine ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 5 ...

High School All American soccer player. He then attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

where he was team captain, starting every game and a mainstay on the Hoosiers soccer team from 1991 to 1994. He started 91 games during his four seasons and was selected as a 1994 third team All American. In 1995, he signed with the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

of the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. That season, the Kickers won both the USISL and Open Cup championships. In February 1996, the Columbus Crew selected Clark in the fourth round (thirty-first overall) in the

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United State ...

. He is the most capped player for the Crew and was also voted to two

MLS All-Star Game The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a traditional all-star ga ...

s. In 1997, Clark married a nurse, Laura Hetrick Clark. In 2000 he had his first child, Michael Sean Clark Jr. In 2003 he had his 2nd and last child, Sophia Leigh Clark. He retired on March 16, 2004, holding the Crew record for games played, minutes played and games started. He also played 22 playoff and 18

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

games. Before his retirement, he had entered the business world, owning two Great Clips franchises and working at a mortgage company. He coached for the “Canterbury high school” Varsity Men's soccer team and led them to numerous state victories. Clark also started the “Mike Clark Soccer Camp” in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 2018 Clark and his family moved from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Wilmington, North Carolina. Where Clark currently works as a Medical Sales Representative for Hologic.

Honors

Club

Columbus Crew *

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Individual

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a tr ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

References

External links

*
Hoosiers in MLS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Mike 1972 births Living people American men's soccer players Columbus Crew players Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer players Richmond Kickers players USISL players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Soccer players from Michigan Men's association football defenders