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| The Clarke File |
Family
Wife: Sherin
Child: Taye |
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Education
Bachelors: Fort Lewis College '04 |
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Playing Experience
Appeared in 69 matches accounting for five goals and three assists at Fort Lewis College over four seasons (1994-95, 97-98). Helped Skyhawks to a Colorado Athletic Conference championship in 1995 and two Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference titles in 1997-98. Played in first two NCAA tournament games in FLC history (1997 and 1998). |
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Coaching Background
Assistant Coach (Women) at Fort Lewis - 1999, 2002-06
Head Coach at Fort Lewis (Women) - 2007-13
Head Coach at Midwestern State (Women) - 2014- |
| Honors |
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NSCAA Central Region Coach of the Year
2009, 2010
RMAC Coach of the Year
2009, 2010
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| By the Year |
| Year |
Record |
Finish |
| 2007 (FLC) |
14-5-3 |
RMAC Tournament Champions |
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NCAA II Qualifiers |
| 2008 (FLC) |
12-7-2 |
4th, RMAC |
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| 2009 (FLC) |
18-3-3 |
RMAC Tournament Champions |
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NCAA II Qualifiers |
| 2010 (FLC) |
18-3-2 |
RMAC Champions |
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NCAA II Elite Eight |
| 2011 (FLC) |
15-3-4 |
NCAA II Qualifiers |
| 2012 (FLC) |
13-4-3 |
5th, RMAC |
| 2013 (FLC) |
16-6-0 |
NCAA II Qualifiers |
| 2014 (MSU) |
8-6-5 |
4th, LSC |
| 2015 (MSU) |
8-7-3 |
5th, LSC |
| 2016 (MSU) |
13-6-4 |
LSC Tournament Champions |
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NCAA II Region Semifinalist |
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135-50-29 |
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Damian Clarke begins his fourth season at the helm of the Midwestern State women's soccer program in 2017 after a successful stint with his alma mater Fort Lewis (Colo.).
The Mustangs put together a historic season in 2016, advancing to the NCAA II South Central Region Semifinals for just the second time in program history while claiming their fifth Lone Star Conference Tournament title over top seed Texas A&M-Commerce, 5-4 on penalty kicks.
Midwestern advanced past the opening round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 in a 6-5 shootout against No. 10 St. Edward’s following a 1-1 draw after 110 minutes of action. The Mustangs historic run would fall short in the next round in a 1-0 defeat to Texas A&M-Commerce at Lion Soccer Field to finish the season 13-6-4.
Midwestern State collected several individual postseason honors to go along with the team’s success. A total of seven Mustangs were named All-Lone Star Conference with a league-best five earning first team accolades. Imani Morlock, Nicole Coetzer, Liz Navarette, Destinee Williamson and Courtney Burnette were tabbed first team selections while Hanna Mattinson and Lauren Fambrough were second team honorees with Mattinson earning MSU’s third-straight LSC Freshman of the Year nod.
The Mustangs also hauled in a handful of South Central Region honors with Williamson, Morlock and Navarette being named to the NSCAA all-region team, and Williamson also collecting D2CCA honors.
In the first season under Clarke, the Mustangs posted an 8-6-5 record in 2014 after going unbeaten through their first 10 matches at 5-0-5 to finish fourth in the Lone Star Conference.
Clarke coached a pair of all-region performers in his first season as Williamson and Morgan Hannon earned third team honors from the NSCAA and were second team awardees from Daktronics.
The Mustangs boasted the LSC Freshman of the Year in Williamson, while Burnette was tabbed Goalkeeper of the Year. Burnette was joined by Hannon and Katy Catney as first team all-league performers.
Year two saw another winning season for the Mustangs under Clarke with an 8-7-3 record and fifth-place finish in the LSC. The Mustangs earned a 1-0 win over No. 13 UC-Colorado Springs on Sept. 11, 2015, tallying the program’s first road win over a nationally-ranked opponent since the 2013 season.
Midwestern sported the second-most all-conference selections with six nods in 2015, highlighted by Morlock earning LSC Freshman of the Year honors and being joined by Hannon on the LSC First Team. Clarke also coached Navarette and Aly Wade to second team honors and Williamson and Burnette to honorable mention accolades.
Clarke guided Hannon to her fifth all-region honor in December 2015 after being tabbed to the D2CCA South Central Region Second Team. The postseason honors kept coming just a couple days later as Morlock and Wade were named NSCAA Third Team selections.
Prior to arriving at MSU, Clarke was a part of the Fort Lewis soccer scene for 18 of 20 years, first as a player and for six years as an assistant coach, before taking over the reins of the women's program in 2007.
The most successful women’s soccer coach in Fort Lewis College history, Clarke eclipsed the century mark on Oct. 13, 2013 at New Mexico Highlands. During his seven years at the helm of the Skyhawk program, Clarke’s teams posted an overall record of 106-31-17 (.744) and a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference mark of 67-20-11 (.740).
Clarke’s Skyhawks qualified for the NCAA Division II women’s soccer playoffs five times (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013) and hosted the regional tournament four times (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013). In 2010, Fort Lewis won the Central Region crown and advanced to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals. Clarke’s team followed that up in 2011 by returning to the Central Region championship game.
Under his watch, the Skyhawks won two RMAC tournament titles (2007 and 2009) and the only regular season RMAC championship (2010) in FLC women’s soccer history.
Clarke’s 106 career victories stand as the most in the program’s record books, ahead of Jaymee Carozza (76 career wins), whom Clarke served as assistant coach for six years.
In his rookie season at the helm of the FLC women’s soccer program, Clarke's Skyhawks won the RMAC tournament, beating the two-time and defending national champions Metro State in the conference semifinals. He also guided the women's soccer squad to their first-ever NCAA tournament berth that year. The team’s 14-5-3 overall mark set a new school record for most wins in one season.
During his second year as head coach, Clarke’s Skyhawks again posted a winning slate, this time at 12-7-2 overall and 9-4-1 in RMAC games.
Clarke's team posted the most successful women’s soccer record in school history in 2009 with an 18-3-3 overall mark, a 12-2-2 RMAC slate, their highest-ever national ranking (No. 11), and an NCAA playoff bid. The also team captured its third RMAC tournament crown in four seasons. By hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Central Regionals, the 2009 squad became the first women’s soccer team in school history to host a national playoff game.
2010 saw many of those records shattered. Clarke’s Skyhawks posted a best-ever record of 18-3-2 overall, 12-1-1 in league games, and climbed to No. 3 in the national rankings. They also picked up their first-ever NCAA playoff win (a 2-1 triumph over Winona State in the Central Regional championship) and reached the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
The 2011 side brought a return trip to the Central Regional championship game, where FLC lost 1-0 to Colorado Mines, but racked up a 15-3-4 overall record, 10-2-2 in RMAC games and matched its highest-ever ranking in the NSCAA/Continental Tire national poll at No. 3 on Sept. 13.
Fort Lewis jumped out to a quick start in 2012, earning the program’s highest-ever national ranking at No. 2 on Sept. 11. FLC finished the season at 13-4-3 overall and 8-3-3 in the tough RMAC regular season campaign. The Skyhawks split their league playoff games, advancing to the league semifinals for the seventh year in a row.
Clarke was chosen as the 2009 NSCAA/Mondo Collegiate Central Region Coach of the Year and RMAC Coach of the Year, making him the first Fort Lewis women's soccer coach to receive both honors in the same season. He also was chosen as RMAC Co-Coach of the Year in 2010 and repeated as the NSCAA Central Region Coach of the Year that same year.
Prior to being named FLC head coach in May 2007, Clarke spent four months as assistant men’s and women’s soccer coach at Mesa State (now Colorado Mesa) from February through April 2007.
Clarke has been involved in FLC soccer longer than any other person in the history of the two programs. He had a four-year career as a player (1994-95, 1997-98), appearing in 69 games while scoring five goals and notching three assists. As someone who helped establish Skyhawk men's soccer as a perennial regional — and, later, national — powerhouse, he was a member of three conference championships (1995 in the Colorado Athletic Conference, 1997 and ’98 in the RMAC) and played in the first two NCAA tournament games in school history (1997 and ’98).
His biggest moment on the field was scoring in the RMAC tournament championship game to help the '97 squad secure the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament. A player who rose to the occasion in big games, Clarke blasted a ball past All-America goalkeeper Greg Meyer in the 66th minute of the 1997 RMAC finals against UC-Colorado Springs to put the icing on FLC’s 3-1 victory.
As a coach and player, Clarke was mentored by numerous coaches who have graced the sidelines of Dirks Field. He played four years under guidance of famed Fort Lewis and current New Mexico head coach Jeremy Fishbein.
“Jeremy taught me a lot about the will to win and the attitude and conviction that it takes to be a success,” Clarke said.
After his playing career was over, he was asked to assist women’s coach Jaymee Carozza. In 1999, their first year together, the women’s program won its first RMAC tournament title and touched the Top 25 in the national rankings for the first time in young program’s history. Clarke regards Carozza as his mentor and credits her with developing his career as a head coach at Fort Lewis College.
“Jaymee allowed me to make mistakes without fear and that was really what allowed me to grow," he said. "She gave me the confidence to coach at this level."
Together, Carozza and Clarke combined for two RMAC tournament championships (1999 and 2006). The two combined for an overall record of 58-43-19 in six seasons together (1999 and 2002-06).
Clarke also credits a lot of his accomplishments and soccer knowledge to Fort Lewis’ most prolific soccer coach to date, Jeremy Gunn.
“Having the opportunity to be around Jeremy and assistant coach Darren Morgan as both friends and coaches was really what instilled much of what I have as a soccer foundation to build upon," he said. "From 2004 to 2006, coach Gunn brought in the best coaching staff that this level has ever seen. Andy McDermid (former Arsenal Youth Academy director, EPL) was the reason and the brain behind the growth of the style and system that has given FLC soccer the name that it has built."
Clarke completed his bachelor's degree in history at Fort Lewis College in 2004.
He is married to the former Sherin Tozier. The couple of are the proud parents to son, Taye (6). The family resides in Wichita Falls.
