The last time Kaysie and Kaitlyn Clark were on the same soccer team, they walked off the pitch with a state championship win June 4, 2011. The sisters won the 2011 Missouri Class 3 State Championship, defeating Ursuline Academy 2-1 in overtime. The victory capped a 27-3 season for the Liberty High School Lady Jays in Kaysie’s senior season.
Three years later, the Clark sisters are reunited at MU in the same freshman-senior scenario. Kaitlyn is once again the freshman, a midfielder seeing minutes each game, and Kaysie is the senior, a captain and a member of the 2013 All-SEC first team.
“It’s interesting in the sense that there (are) a few years between them,” Mizzou coach Bryan Blitz said. “We have a senior who is one of our captains and an incoming freshman. Kaysie has done a great job with being a big sister and helping Kaitlyn adjust and at the same time, not being overbearing. She’s allowing Kaitlyn to be Kaitlyn.”
And Kaitlyn being Kaitlyn is her being funny, Kaysie said. When Kaitlyn was asked to choose a word to describe her sister, she said, “strong.” Kaitlyn said she has always looked up to her big sister, who is mentally tough on the field.
“She makes me want to get better as a player and as a person,” Kaitlyn said. “I know she will always be there.”
Kaysie was there for Kaitlyn when it was time for her little sister to make the transition from high school soccer to Division I at Mizzou. Kaitlyn said Kaysie has helped her adjust to the college environment and given her pointers on the field.
Kaysie said she is gracious that she once again gets to have this experience with her sister.
“It’s been cool just because we’ve both been able to share that passion for playing soccer together,” she said. “It was really cool to see her grow as a player and develop and get as good as she is today.”
Blitz said he can’t wait to see what the younger Clark sister does in the future for the Tigers. He said he enjoys the dynamic that sisters bring to the team.
“It’s where we are right now, and it’s where we’re going to be in the future,” Blitz said. “You’ve got Kaysie Clark, who’s one of the top players in the country and that’s where we are right now. Our goal is to push into that realm of elite teams. And then you have Kaitlyn, who is where we’re going to be. She’s a hard worker and someone who’s getting quality minutes as a freshman.
“She’s presenting to our coaching staff, ‘Wow, this is what we can do in the future.’ I think we’ve got both things to be successful right now in one family.”
Blitz refers to his team frequently as a family. In fact, the sisters said it was the comfortable family environment that attracted both of them to committing to Mizzou in the first place.
“They’re all sisters,” Blitz said. “We have 25 sisters. In the end, it brings an extra element.”
When asked about their favorite soccer memory together, both sisters go back to their state championship win on that Saturday night in 2011.
“That’s just something that we will never forget,” Kaitlyn said. “It was just the fact that we did it together, and for our last year, you can’t really get any better than that.”
In the state semifinals and championship game, the Clark sisters combined for two goals and four assists. In a district round 8-0 win against Oak Park, the sisters had six points together. Kaysie had three goals and an assist, while Kaitlyn contributed two assists in the contest.
“They’re in a unique position,” Blitz said. “They shared a high school season that was special to them. Our hope is that this season is special to them as well.”
