HARBOR SPRINGS — It takes a special kind of athlete to want to play on the defensive end of the soccer field.
Not just physically, where you have to mirror an opposing team’s standout scorer and see things before they happen, but mentally, giving up the glory of putting your team on the board.
For Harbor Springs junior Julia Clarke, there’s just as much honor to be had in keeping goals off the board.
“It feels the same as getting a goal by stopping one,” Clarke said.
She would know better than anyone.
Clarke has experienced the best of both ends of the field.
“I started as a freshman as a forward, then I got moved back to defense with my friend Mack (Bowman) and I just really wanted to play like her,” Clarke said. “I like it a lot more as I’ve gotten into it and been more physical. It’s kind of scary at first, but I also just like helping my team.”
On Thursday, April 30 at Ottawa Stadium in Harbor Springs, Clarke was there helping her Rams take a lead within the Northern Shores Conference, shutting out Elk Rapids in the second half of a 2-1 victory.
After the Elks scored first, Harbor came back with a pair of goals by Sophie Barnadyn and Meme Animikwam, putting the pressure on the defense the rest of the way.
To make things more challenging, the Rams ran just three in the backline Thursday, with Clarke leading the charge in the center.
“I was going to put pressure on her,” Harbor coach Aaron Riley said, knowing Clarke could handle it. “I think she decided to take that challenge on and if she makes a mistake, she makes a mistake, but I think she grew in confidence today.”
Clarke, along with Makenna Brey, Taya Price-Thatcher and others, stepped up to that challenge.
“I knew I was gonna have a lot more on my plate, but my whole team helped out, everyone communicated really well,” Clarke said.
That’s essentially how it’s been all season for the Rams, who moved up to No. 4 in the latest Division 4 rankings this past week and improved to 7-1-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the NSC.
The defense has pitched five shutouts this season, with just a pair of goals allowed against Elk Rapids in two meetings.
Much of that has come from Clakre, who even as a junior, is the veteran leader in the back, with Price-Thatcher a freshman, then Brey, goalkeeper Lillian McShannock and fellow defender Addison Zulski all sophomores.
Much of their success comes out of communication, with Clarke directing the orchestra.
“It’s massive and I feel like we’ve been doing really great with communication this year,” Clarke said. “We’ve done well in past years, but I feel like we all mesh together really well.”
For Riley, Clarke has been the perfect piece to lean on in that backline, always focused on the glory of keeping goals off the board.
“That’s just her character,” he said. “She doesn’t care about any ego and stats, she cares about the team, us moving forward and she took on the role and I think she now likes defense. So that tells you her development as a player.”
While Thursday’s win puts the Rams in the driver’s seat for the league, there’s still six league games remaining and a trip to Gaylord (9-1) next week that’ll push Harbor, just like a week that included a rivalry with Boyne then meeting Leland and the Elks.
Reach Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com and follow him on X @DrewKochanny and Instagram @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Harbor Springs’ Julia Clarke finding pride in taking scoring chances away
Reporting by Drew Kochanny, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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