Steve Clark

Steven Thomas Clark (born April 14, 1986) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.

College and amateur career Lightly recruited out of high-school, Clark walked-on for the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. After red-shirting his first season, Clark made 2 appearances in the 2005 season. He won the Grizzlies starting job in 2006. He helped Oakland make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2007–08, making the All-Summit League 1st team both seasons. Clark won the Summit League's Defensive Player of the Year award in 2008 and was named to the All-Midwest Regional First Team.

From 2006 to 2009, Clark played with Premier Development League side Michigan Bucks, helping the PDL club to its first league championship in 2006, where he was named championship MVP. In 2007, the Bucks returned to the title game, but fell on penalties to the Laredo Heat. In 2008, Clark helped the Bucks to the club's second regular season championship and first since 2000, en route to winning the Paul R. Scicluna trophy, awarded annually to the club's Most Valuable Player. From 2006 to 2008, Clark also helped the Bucks to three-straight Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup appearances. In all, the Mason, MI native appeared in 75 matches over four seasons with the Pontiac-based side.

Professional career Early career After going undrafted in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, Clark went on trial with MLS club Real Salt Lake, but was released before signing a contract. After unsuccessful trials with other lower league clubs around the US, Clark returned to play for the Michigan Bucks. In August 2009, Clark signed with USL-1 club Charleston Battery, making just $30 a day. He then went on trial at Norwegian Tippeligaen club Stabæk. Clark came close to signing, but the club opted for somebody else.

Hønefoss In January 2010, Clark signed a one-year contract with Tippeligaen club Hønefoss BK after impressing the coaches during his 1-day trial. Clark made 4 appearances during the season as Hønefoss finished in 14th place and were relegated to the Adeccoligaen after losing in the relegation playoffs.

Clark was named first-choice keeper for HBK after beating out long-time starter Thomas Solvoll. Clark helped lead Hønefoss to the Adeccoligaen title, appearing in all 30 games and keeping 12 clean sheets. HBK finished the season with a league best 28 goals against. After the 2011 season, Clark signed a two-year contract extension with Hønefoss, keeping him at the club until December 2013.

Clark enjoyed a good season in 2012, playing in all 30 league games and keeping 9 clean sheets for Hønefoss, helping the club finish in 13th, 2 places and 3 points above the relegation zone. He led the league in saves and was 3rd for clean sheets

2013 saw Clark start all 30 league games again, however this time he was not able to save HBK, as they finished bottom of the league.

Columbus Crew On December 16, 2013, Clark was acquired by the Columbus Crew in a sign-and-trade deal with Seattle Sounders FC. The Sounders received a 2015 MLS SuperDraft fourth-round selection in exchange for sending Clark's rights to Columbus. In preseason, Clark beat out Matt Lampson for the starting spot. He made his Crew debut on March 8, 2014, helping Columbus to a 3–0 win against D.C. United. He played every minute of all 34 league matches in 2014, as well as both Open Cup matches, as Clark helped the Crew finish 3rd in the Eastern Conference, returning to playoffs after failing to qualify the previous two seasons. After a first round bye, Clark and the Crew lost 7–3 on aggregate in the Conference Semifinals. Clark also received the Kirk Urso Heart Award, voted on by his Crew teammates for displaying heart and leadership. Clark played every minute of the regular season in 2015, helping the Crew finish 2nd in the East. After losing 2–1 at the Montreal Impact in leg 1 of the Conference Semifinals, Clark made 9 saves in leg 2 to help the Crew win 3–1 in extra time. In the Conference Finals, Clark kept a clean sheet as Columbus beat the New York Red Bulls 2–0 in leg 1, followed up by a 6 save performance in a 1–0 loss in leg 2 to help the Crew advance on aggregate.

2016 was a poor season for Columbus. Clark started the first 32 games of the season and kept 8 clean sheets, but with the team eliminated from playoff contention, he was benched for the final 2 games of the year. Columbus finished 10th in the Eastern Conference one year after playing in MLS Cup. Following the season, the Crew declined the option on Clark's contract for 2017.

AC Horsens On January 17, 2017, Clark signed a six-month deal with AC Horsens of the Danish Superliga. He made his debut for ACH on February 18 as Den Gule Fare lost 1–0 to Silkeborg IF. Clark made 5 appearances in the regular season and played in all 6 of Horsens's relegation round matches. He left the club again at the end of the season.

D.C. United On August 17, 2017, Clark signed for MLS side D.C. United. He made his debut for D.C. on September 23, keeping a clean sheet in a 4–0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. Clark played the final 5 matches of the 2017 season.

Clark made his first appearance of the 2018 season on April 14 in a 1–0 win over the Columbus Crew, with Clark making 5 saves to shutout his former club. The performance saw him named to the MLS Team of the Week. On August 16, D.C. United waived Clark, having made just 3 MLS appearances and 1 Open Cup appearance in 2018.

Portland Timbers On August 17, 2018, Clark was claimed off waivers by the Portland Timbers. He made his Timbers debut on September 1, coming off the bench and giving up a goal in a 1–1 draw against the New England Revolution after starting goalkeeper Jeff Attinella hurt his hamstring. Clark started the next 4 games before Attinella returned. The Timbers reached MLS Cup 2018, where they lost 2–0 to Atlanta United FC, but Clark did not appear in the playoffs. Clark made his first appearance of the 2019 season on April 27, helping Portland to a 2–1 win over Toronto FC. After just 5 appearances in the first 15 MLS games of the season, Clark won the starting job in early July and started the final 19 games of the regular season. Clark and the Timbers fell 2–1 to Real Salt Lake in the first round of the playoffs.

Clark and the Timbers opened the 2020 season on March 1 with a 3–1 loss to Minnesota United FC. After the first 2 games of the regular season, the MLS season was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Play resumed in July with the MLS is Back Tournament, with the 3 group stage games counting as regular season matches and the knockout round used to determine a CONCACAF Champions League berth. Clark started all the group stage games, helping Portland top their group. Following the tournament, Clark appeared in 15 of Portland's remaining regular season games. He ended the shortened regular season with 20 appearances (out of a possible 23) and kept 5 clean sheets, helping the Timbers finish 3rd in the Western Conference. On November 22, Portland fell to FC Dallas 8–7 on penalties in the opening round of the playoffs. He would miss the Timbers next 6 MLS games and the CCL quarterfinal matchup with Club América, a 4–2 aggregate loss. Clark had a 78.2% save percentage in the regular season, which was second-highest in the entire league. In the playoffs, Clark played every minute of Portland's 4 games and kept 2 clean sheets, helping the Timbers reach MLS Cup 2021, where they lost 4–2 on penalties to NYCFC. He made his Dynamo debut on February 27, 2022, keeping a clean sheet to give Houston a 0–0 draw with Real Salt Lake in the opening game of the season. He appeared in 33 of Houston's 34 regular season games (only missing a game due to his daughter's birth) and kept 6 clean sheets.

Career statistics updated|December 2, 2023|

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

2007

2008

2009

51!!0!!9!!0!!5!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!65!!0

2013

94!!0!!0!!0!!3!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!97!!0

2015

2016

100!!0!!7!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!109!!0

2018

8!!0!!0!!0!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!9!!0

2019

2020

2021

76!!0!!6!!0!!4!!0!!2!!0!!4!!0!!92!!0

2023

419!!0!!33!!0!!15!!0!!2!!0!!7!!0!!435!!0

Honors Hønefoss BK Norwegian 1. divisjon: 2011

Columbus Crew Eastern Conference (Playoffs): 2015

Portland Timbers Western Conference (Playoffs): 2018, 2021 MLS is Back Tournament: 2020

Houston Dynamo U.S. Open Cup: 2023

Individual All-Summit League 1st Team: 2007, 2008 TV 2's Tippeligaen Best XI: 2012 Together they have a daughter. Carella works as a fitness trainer. Clark is a Christian.