Reporter Elliott Lang contributed to this story
Women’s Soccer
Clark’s women’s soccer team ended their 14-3-1 season with an overtime loss of 2-1 to Northwest Idaho. Forward Molly Joyce led the Penguins to first place in the NWAC Southern Division with an 11-0-1 record. Joyce had 25 goals, five assists and earned second in the league, where a goal is two points and an assist is one, with 55 points overall.
Men’s Soccer
Clark’s men’s team finished their 10-8-2 season with a playoff run that was cut short by Tacoma College, 5-4, via penalty kicks. Forward David Joyce ended the season as Clark’s top scorer with 10 goals and two assists, while Woodlin Placide came in second with six goals and one assist.
Men’s Basketball
Umpqua Community College. Johnson became Clark’s new head coach after the season when then head coach Alex Kirk stepped down. (Andy Bao/The Independent)
Clark’s men’s basketball fell to Whatcom College in overtime, ending their championship run in the Sweet 16 of the NWAC Championships. Although the team had to adapt to a midseason coaching change from Alex Kirk to Kevin Johnson, Clark finished with a 10-6 division record and took first place in the NWAC South Region. Luke Osborn and Jordan Berni led the team in scoring with 13.2 ppg while Ozzie George led the rebounds category with 7.4 rpg.
Softball
First-year head coach Meghan Crouse guided Clark’s softball team to a 13-15 division record. Clark’s 13 players, the second smallest roster in the NWAC, led it to its first ever postseason appearance. Despite only having two pitchers for a majority of the season, Clark went on to play four games in the NWAC’s double-elimination championship bracket, losing to Wenatchee College, the 2017 NWAC Champions, in its final game.
Baseball
Clark’s baseball team finished with an overall record of 20-19 but struggled in the division with a 10-14 record. Early in the season the team even went on a 10-game winning streak, but faced an onslaught of injuries. Five of the team’s nine starters were injured throughout the season including the entire starting outfield. Mark Magdaleno said the slew of injuries may have been affected by the record rainfall in March and April.
Track and Field
Clark track and field athletes earned fourth (women) and sixth place (men) in the NWAC Track and Field Championships May 22-23. NWAC Field Athlete of the Meet Olivia Rose participated in five events and finished no worse than fourth in all of them. Rose said that the end of her time at Clark is “bitter-sweet” as many of the teams sophomores are moving on to four-year schools for track and field. Rose will become the first Clark athlete, under head coach Robert Williams, to enroll at a Division I school for track and field. Rose will attend Brigham Young University.
