Courtesy of The Oakland Press
By Rob Tate, Special to the paper
July 26, 2008

PONTIAC ??? If you see Steve Clark walking the streets these days, it would be a nice pleasantry if you offer him a cup of coffee or maybe even a Red Bull.

It has been non-stop busy all summer long for Clark, who has been the goalkeeper for both the Michigan Bucks and the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies for the past three years, and recently in March, was elected student body president at OU.

Every day this summer, from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., this has been Clark???s life.

And impressively enough, it???s almost as if he takes this routine in stride.

Clark has yet to drop a match in net for the Bucks this season, posting a 12-0-2 record with six shutouts, coming off a fall season at OU where he posted a 1.03 goals-against average ??? allowing just one goal in Summit League play ??? helping the Golden Grizzlies to a secondround appearance in the NCAA men???s soccer tournament.

Clark was also recently honored at the Bucks??? regular-season home finale with the Paul R. Scicluna Award, the highest honor for a Bucks player.

???It???s just been a busy summer,??? Clark said. ???But because I???m busy, I???m focused and that???s definitely what I have to say about this summer.???

With Clark logging most of the time in net for his third season with the Bucks, the team has gone 13-1-2 and start the Central Conference playoffs at home tonight.

???It feels good to have a majority of the team back,??? said Clark, who was the winning goalkeeper in 2006, when the Bucks won the Premier Development League championship. ???I???ve gotten better each year I have been here. I kind of feel like this is the pinnacle season.???

Every morning, Clark goes to OU to carry out his duties as student body president. The rest of the day, his focus is on soccer, which can involve anything from training, to practices and games with the Bucks. Clark even spent some time this summer training with OU???s basketball team.

???I???m out of the house all day,??? Clark said. ???I???m definitely playing and training a lot.???

For those who haven???t seen Clark play, he is the outspoken one patrolling the goal area. He is loud, sometimes vulgar and openly admits that he plays with a chip on his shoulder.

???In my freshman or sophomore year in high school, I just decided that I really wanted to be good,??? Clark said of playing with emotion. ???I was always pretty emotional, so it just translated into the game and wanting to win and caring a lot. So I think I probably developed it in high school, but it has just grown into college. I think it???s a big plus. At times, it can be a negative, but I think I???ve calmed all that down, and it???s always a plus now.???

Besides making big saves, he is also the vocal leader for his defense.

???My job is to not get scored on, and that means sometimes making saves, and that means sometimes preventing shots from happening. I???m just there being the eyes and ears in the back of the head of my defenders and midfielders,??? Clark said. ???Anything I can do to win.???

Clark has played goalkeeper since the third grade, and has never played a game in his life out on the field. Even when he would play floor hockey with friends, you could find him between the pipes.

???What I like best about him is he works so hard,??? Bucks head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. ???He was good to start with, but over the last couple of years, he???s just gotten better and better.???

Clark cites his high school coach, Paul Kato, and Oakland University assistant coach and former Michigan Buck, Eric Pogue, as his biggest influences in soccer.

Kato helped calm some of Clark???s overexuberance as a junior, telling Clark that ???he wouldn???t be anything unless he worked hard.??? Clark was a three-time all-state performer at Lansing-area Mason High School.

???We used to bump heads for about a year, but now I still talk to him about once a month and he comes to games ??? he???s a good guy,??? Clark said.

Clark credits Pogue for the opportunity to play at OU and, in turn, a great opportunity with the Bucks as well.

???I wasn???t highly-recruited out of high school,??? Clark said. ???I had two colleges (looking at me) ??? the University of Cincinnati and Oakland. I think (Pogue) saw something in me and just wanted to develop me. I think it was a project for him. He???s one of the reasons where I am.???

There???s great potential for Clark to play beyond college and the PDL. Clark has worked out in the past with the Major League Soccer???s Columbus Crew and Chivas USA, and he has plans to train with the Colorado Rapids later this summer.

???I think he???s gonna have to show well in a trial,??? Fitzgerald said Clark???s chances of moving up. ???I don???t think it???s an automatic thing. He???s not gonna get drafted and put in a starting lineup. He???s gotta get to the right place and do well. And if that doesn???t work out, I think there is other opportunities.???

While there is hope for making the MLS, it wouldn???t have come with much more of a sacrifice. Clark already spends all of his summers in college trying to get better and training hard. He has little time for friends back home and doesn???t work either, besides his duties at OU.

???I???m broke. You can???t work when you play in the PDL,??? Clark said. ???Money-wise, I just don???t care because I???m playing. I have this dream and I???m going to achieve it.???

Even with the little free time he has had, Clark still managed to make trips to Colorado for some volunteering as well as a trip to Canada.

???It???s been a good summer so far,??? Clark said.

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