Ashley Clark

Ashley Clark
Personal information
Full name Ashley Jordan Clark[1]
Date of birth (1993-08-06) August 6, 1993
Place of birth Jacksonville, North Carolina, U.S.
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Montpellier
Number 10
Youth career
Triangle FC 93
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2015 Campbell Fighting Camels 77 (44)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 Tierps IF 21 (13)
2017 Boston Breakers Reserves – (11)
2017–2021 Le Havre 51 (24)
2021–2024 Marseille 52 (40)
2024–2025 Tampa Bay Sun 17 (1)
2025 Víkingur 12 (7)
2026– Montpellier 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of March 14, 2026

Ashley Jordan Clark (born August 6, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Première Ligue club Montpellier. She played college soccer for the Campbell Fighting Camels before starting her career in Sweden with Tierps IF and in the American Women's Premier Soccer League for the Boston Breakers' reserve team. Clark has also previously played for fellow French clubs Le Havre and Marseille, as well as USL Super League club Tampa Bay Sun FC and Icelandic club Víkingur.

Early life

Born in Jacksonville, North Carolina,[2] to Scott and Chandra Clark, Clark grew up in Cary.[3] She was introduced to soccer at the age of four.[4] She went on to play club soccer for Triangle FC 93, helping the team reach multiple state cup finals. Clark attended Panther Creek High School, where she was a three-time all-conference honoree and led the team in goals and assists as a senior. She also lettered in basketball.[3]

College career

As a freshman with the Campbell Fighting Camels in 2011, Clark started all 22 games, scored 11 goals (6 of which were game-winners), and had 7 assists. Her goals and assists were tied for second across the entire Big South Conference,[3] and her 102 shots broke the conference's single-season record.[5] She also contributed to Campbell's journey to the Big South tournament championship match, scoring a goal against Winthrop along the way. At the end of the season, Clark was named to the Big South all-freshman team and all-conference first team. She had also won two conference attacking player of the week honors along the way.[3]

Clark continued to find offensive success in her sophomore season. Her 10 goals was the third-most in the Big South and catapulted her to seventh in Campbell program history in goals.[3] She was once again named first-team All-Big South. In the spring before her junior year, Clark picked up a serious knee injury that forced her to redshirt the 2013 season entirely.[5] After returning to the pitch in 2014, she registered 15 starts, 8 goals, and her third first-team all-conference award.[3][6]

In her final season with the Fighting Camels, Clark was named the Big South Attacking Player of the Year. Her 17 goals tied for 17th across the NCAA, and her 10 assists were tied for 16th. She finished as first across the nation in shots on goal per game, with 3.1.[3] Clark's performances not only earned her a fourth and final All-Big South first team honor,[6] but also all-state and all-southeast region honors. She departed from Campbell having scored 44 goals across 77 appearances.[3]

Club career

Early career

Clark registered for the 2016 NWSL Draft, but she was not selected by any team.[7] Instead, she signed her first professional contract with Swedish third-tier side Tierps IF ahead of the 2016 season.[8] In her lone season in Sweden, Clark participated in all 21 games and led the team with 13 goals and 3 assists as she fought to help Tierps IF evade relegation.[9][10] 4 of her goals came in a single match against FC Djursholm in July 2016.[11]

After her stint in Sweden, Clark received an invitation to the North Carolina Courage's 2017 NWSL preseason camp. However, she did not earn a contract with her hometown club.[12] Instead, Clark spent 2017 playing for the Boston Breakers' reserve team in the Women's Premier Soccer League. She recorded 11 goals and 5 assists as the Breakers finished as champions of the WPSL East Division. She helped Boston advance to the final four of the WPSL Championships before they were defeated by the Gulf Coast Texans, 1–0, in July 2017.[9]

Le Havre

Clark then took her career overseas again, moving to France in August 2017 to sign for Division 2 Féminine club Le Havre AC.[2][9] She joined the team right at the beginning of its mission to gain promotion to the Division 1 Féminine for the first time.[13] In her second year at Le Havre, Clark was among the top three scorers on her team.[4] She went on to play a total of four years for Le Havre,[14] often as a member of a strong American contingent on the team.[13]

In the 2019–20 season, she helped Le Havre get promoted to the Division I after finishing the season at the top of the table. In her first season playing Division I professional soccer in any country, Clark scored 3 goals across 18 appearances.[15] However, Le Havre finished the season in last place and were relegated back down to the Division 2.[16]

Marseille

In July 2021, Clark signed for French Division 2 side Olympique de Marseille. She started off her Marseille career with a bang, netting 17 goals to become the second-highest scorer in the league for the 2021–22 season. In her second year at Marseille, Clark was named club captain, her first-ever captaincy position in her career.[17] She went on to lead Marseille to a successful first half of 2022–23, scoring a goal in the last match of 2023 to help Marseille go into the midseason break at the top of the table.[14] In April 2023, she missed three months of play with an ankle injury.[18]

In the 2023–24 season, Clark led Marseille as the team battled to get promoted to the Division I.[18] The club finished just shy of their goal after finishing in third place at the end of the season; while Marseille did end tied with FC Nantes on total points, their head-to-head record was worse than Nantes, causing Marseille to accept the third-place spot. Clark departed from Marseille at the end of the season.[19]

Tampa Bay Sun

On June 4, 2024,[20] Tampa Bay Sun FC announced that they had signed Clark ahead of the inaugural USL Super League season.[21] In the Sun's first-ever competitive match, Clark was a member of the Tampa Bay starting lineup as the Sun drew with Dallas Trinity FC, 1–1. Her corner kick assist on Brooke Hendrix's goal was the first-ever assist in club history.[22] On September 9, 2024, Clark scored her only goal of the season, the game-winner in a 3–2 victory over Lexington SC.[23][24] After contributing to Tampa Bay's USL Super League championship win, Clark departed from the Sun at the end of the season.[25] She had made 17 appearances, coming on as a substitute in all but two games.[23]

Víkingur

Icelandic Besta deild kvenna club Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur signed Clark in August 2025, penning her to a contract lasting through the end of the 2025 season.[26] Clark recorded 12 appearances and 7 goals in her half-season stint with Víkingur.[1]

Montpellier

In February 2026, Clark returned to France, joining Première Ligue club Montpellier HSC as the club fought to evade relegation to the Seconde Ligue.[27] She made her Montpellier debut on February 21, starting and playing 81 minutes in a 2–2 draw with FC Nantes.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b Ashley Clark at KSÍ (in Icelandic)
  2. ^ a b "Regards d'ailleurs : Ashley, la footballeuse made in USA". Paris Normandie (in French). Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Ashley Clark". Campbell Fighting Camels. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Coupe du monde féminine : au Havre, elles ont fait du football leur métier". actu.fr (in French). May 24, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Meet the Camels Monday: Ashley Clark". Campbell Fighting Camels. July 28, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  6. ^ a b "Clark named Attacking Player of the Year; Six individuals earn all-conference honors". Campbell Fighting Camels. October 30, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  7. ^ "Pour son opération maintien, le HAC compte sur ses Américaines". Foot Normand (in French). October 30, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  8. ^ "Flera nya förstärker Tierps damlag". Gefle Dagblad (in Swedish). March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c "Ashley Clark signs with Le Havre AC in France". Campbell Fighting Camels. August 1, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  10. ^ "Tierp tappade allt – måste vinna mot Huge: "Något annat finns inte"". Arbetarbladet (in Swedish). September 24, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  11. ^ "Fyra mål av Ashley Clark när Tierp slog FC Djursholm". Arbetarbladet (in Swedish). July 26, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  12. ^ "Ashley Clark invited to NC Courage preseason camp". Campbell Fighting Camels. March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  13. ^ a b "Pour son opération maintien, le HAC compte sur ses Américaines". Foot Normand (in French). October 30, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  14. ^ a b Schmit, Philippe (December 21, 2023). "Le président de l'OM est venu supporter les collégiennes de M24 !". M24 Sport Santé (in French). Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  15. ^ Ashley Clark at FBref.com
  16. ^ "Football - D1 Féminine : les filles du Havre AC retournent en D2". Paris Normandie (in French). July 13, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  17. ^ Vigne, Emmanuelle (January 31, 2023). "Ashley CLARK, « J'ai l'OM dans le sang »". Toutma (in French). Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  18. ^ a b Kadoum, Camille. "De grandes ambitions pour l'OM Féminine". www.lamarseillaise.fr (in French). Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  19. ^ Nieto, Sébastien (May 26, 2024). "Football féminin : le FC Nantes et Strasbourg rejoignent l'élite et l'Arkema Première Ligue la saison prochaine". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  20. ^ Tampa Bay Sun FC [@tampabaysunfc]; (June 4, 2024). "Welcome, Ashley Clark (@clarkashley24) to Tampa Bay Sun FC! This STRIKER has GOALS on the mind". Retrieved March 14, 2026 – via Instagram.
  21. ^ "Tampa Bay Sun FC's Rising with Potential: How The First Signings Could Shape the Season – RBLR Sports". Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  22. ^ Mayer, Rick (August 19, 2024). "Tampa's first women's soccer club earns a tie in inaugural game as sellout crowd watches". WUSF. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  23. ^ a b Ashley Clark at Soccerway
  24. ^ "Sun Earn First-Ever Win in Thriller vs Lexington". Tampa Bay Sun Football Club. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  25. ^ "Tampa Bay Sun Football Club 2025/26 Retained List". Tampa Bay Sun Football Club. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  26. ^ Ágústsson, Hörður (August 5, 2025). "Ashley Clark til Víkings | Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur" (in Icelandic). Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  27. ^ "Arkema Première Ligue : le MHSC féminines officialise l'arrivée de trois recrues". midilibre.fr (in French). Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  28. ^ "2025-2026 Ashley Clark Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.