BUFFALO, N.Y. - Canisius Director of Athletics Bill Maher announced today that Todd Clark has been named the fifth head coach in Canisius women’s soccer program history. Clark, who has eight years of Division I head coaching experience, comes to Canisius after serving as the head coach at Division II Barton College in 2014, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to an 11-5-2 overall mark and a 6-4-1 record in Conference Carolinas play. Clark replaces former Canisius head coach Jim Wendling, who stepped down after serving as the program’s coach for seven seasons.
“We are very excited to have Todd Clark leading our women’s soccer program,” Maher said. “Todd is an experienced head coach who has a proven ability to build successful soccer programs that compete for conference championships. I look forward to working with him to continue to build our women’s soccer program here at Canisius.”
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as the next head coach for the Canisius women’s soccer program,” Clark said. “I would like to thank Bill Maher and associate athletic director Traci Murphy for trusting me to take over this program. They have put a lot of time and effort into building this program and I appreciate the fact they feel I am the right person to take over the leadership of this team.
“In my previous coaching positions, I’ve been fortunate to work with some great people and I saw that same level of commitment from the administration, coaches, support staff and student-athletes on my visit to Canisius. The people at Canisius truly care about who was going to come in and coach this team. I look forward to working with them as well as we look to move this program in the right direction.”
Clark took over the women’s soccer program at Barton College after serving as the head women’s soccer coach at Campbell University from 2006-13. While at Campbell, he posted a record of 168-117-10 and helped lead the Fighting Camels to the 2011 Big South Tournament championship game after the team recorded a 15-5-2 mark. During his time at Campbell, the Cleveland, Ohio, native recruited and developed 30 conference award winners, including six All-Big South First Team honorees from 2011-13. His teams were also very successful off the field as well, earning eight National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) Team Academic Awards.
“It is going to be tough to leave the people at Barton, especially my team,” Clark said. “I believe we can be successful at Canisius. I’ve already spoken to a number of players on the team and some of the pieces of the puzzle are already in place as we work toward the ultimate goal of winning a MAAC championship.”
Prior to his time at Campbell, Clark served as the head women’s soccer coach at Malone University in Canton, Ohio for eight years. There, he led the Pioneers of the NAIA ranks to two American Mideast Conference championships and a pair of league runner-up finishes. His squads reached the semifinals of the NAIA Region IX four times, with the 2003 unit winning the regional crown and advancing to the NAIA national tournament. His Malone teams ranked among the NSCAA/NAIA Top-25 poll in six-straight seasons (2000-05) and he was named the NSCAA East Regional Coach of the Year on four different occasions. His program produced 18 NSCAA All-Americans and 44 all-league award winners. In the classroom, his final seven teams at Malone were presented with NSCAA Team Academic Awards.
Throughout his 17 years as a head coach at Barton, Campbell and Malone, Clark has served as a staff member for the Olympic Development Program, and for the past several years he has worked with the Northern Ireland (IFA) women’s national team. He holds a Premier Diploma and a Level II and III Goalkeeper Diploma from the NSCAA as well as an Irish Football Association-UEFA “A” license.
A 1994 graduate of Malone University, Clark inherits a Canisius program that went 6-14-0 overall and 5-5-0 in MAAC play. The Griffs earned a berth into the 2014 MAAC Women’s Soccer Championship as the No. 6 seed and saw their season end with a 1-0 loss to Niagara in the tournament’s quarterfinal round. Canisius will return 20 letterwinners from last season’s team, including three of the team’s top-five scorers.