Clara_Schilke

Clara Schilke

Clara Schilke

American soccer player (born 1998)

Clara Schilke (née Robbins; born September 12, 1998) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. She played seven seasons of college soccer for the Florida State Seminoles, winning NCAA championships in 2018 and 2021, and made the most appearances in program history. She was a three-time All-ACC selection and was named the ACC tournament's most valuable player in 2020 and 2021. She was drafted by the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the first round of the 2023 NWSL Draft. She was injured during the 2023 season and retired the following year at age 25.

Quick Facts Personal information, Date of birth ...

Early life

Schilke grew up in Stafford, Virginia.[1] She began playing soccer "just to get out and do something".[2] She played for Northern Virginia Soccer Club and then captained Fredericksburg FC's 98 Gold youth team, which went 41–2 in her last seasons, and she trained with her state and region Olympic Development Program.[1][3] She played one year of high school soccer as a freshman at Colonial Forge High School, where she graduated in 2016.[4]

College career

Florida State won five ACC tournaments and two NCAA championships during Schilke's seven years with the team from 2016 to 2022. She redshirted her first year, then regularly started as a redshirt freshman in 2017.[1][5] The next spring, she was called into training camp with the United States national under-19 team in February 2018.[6] She played in only three games that fall before a season-ending injury forced her to sit out the Seminoles' run to the 2018 NCAA title.[1][4] She first scored for Florida State during the 2020 season in which she led the team in goals and assists with six each.[1]

Schilke was named most valuable player of the ACC tournament twice: in 2020, for scoring twice in the first six minutes and adding an assist in the final against North Carolina, and in 2021, for scoring the lone goal from long range in the final against Virginia.[7][8] She recorded a goal and an assist during the Seminoles' run to the 2020 NCAA title game and two assists during their 2021 NCAA championship run.[1] She considered leaving Florida State with the departure of longtime coach Mark Krikorian but returned for a seventh and final season in which the team defended their ACC title and made the 2022 NCAA semifinals.[1][9] TopDrawerSoccer described Schilke as "the anchor of everything" and "as reliable as ever" during her final college tournament.[10]

Having received extra years of eligibility due to a medical redshirt and the COVID-19 pandemic, Schilke finished her college career with 110 caps, the most in program history and second-most in women's college soccer history, and totaled 17 career goals and 25 assists.[1][11] She was named to the All-ACC second team in each in her last three years.[1] She earned her master's degree in exercise physiology in December 2021.[5]

Club career

Schilke after a Courage game in 2024

The North Carolina Courage selected Schilke ninth overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft with one of their four first-round draft picks.[12] She was signed to a three-year contract.[13] She made her professional debut in a Challenge Cup draw to the Orlando Pride on April 19, 2023.[14] She made two regular season appearances, starting in a loss to NJ/NY Gotham FC on April 22 and substituting late against Racing Louisville FC on May 27, before suffering a season-ending rupture of her left Achilles tendon.[14][15] She remained on the season-ending injury list at the start of the 2024 season and announced her retirement from the NWSL on May 10, 2024, to spend more time with her family.[16][17]

Personal life

She married Gabe Schilke in July 2023.[18]

Career statistics

More information Club, Season ...
  1. Includes the NWSL Challenge Cup
  2. Includes NWSL Playoffs

Honors

Florida State Seminoles

North Carolina Courage

Individual

  • All-ACC second team: 2020, 2021, 2022
  • ACC tournament most valuable player: 2020, 2021
  • ACC all-tournament team: 2020, 2021
  • NCAA College Cup all-tournament team: 2020

References

  1. [1]
    "Clara Robbins – 2022–23 – Women's Soccer". Florida State Seminoles. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  2. [2]
    LoMonaco, Joey (January 11, 2023). "Colonial Forge grad Robbins looks forward to NWSL draft". The Free Lance–Star. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023.
  3. [3]
    Kiser, Bill (July 21, 2014). "US Club National Cup Finals: Huge Upset". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  4. [4]
    DeShazo, Steve (November 16, 2020). "College notebook: Colonial Forge graduate Robbins leads Florida State to ACC soccer title". The Free Lance–Star. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023.
  5. [5]
    Kassim, Ehsan (October 26, 2022). "Florida State soccer: 7th year player Clara Robbins prepares for final regular season home game". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  6. [6]
    "U18 and U19 WNT head to Florida". United States Soccer Federation. February 7, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2024 – via TopDrawerSoccer.
  7. [7]
    "Florida State Defeats North Carolina 3–2 to Win ACC Women's Soccer Championship". Atlantic Coast Conference. November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  8. [8]
    Fernandez, Andre C. (November 7, 2021). "Spectacular goal, clutch defense carry Florida State soccer to repeat ACC tournament title". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  9. [9]
    Thomas, Gerald III (August 13, 2022). "What brought back FSU soccer vet Clara Robbins and how has she helped new coach Brian Pensky?". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  10. [10]
    Hindle, Tom (November 30, 2022). "Florida State Relies on Winning Experience". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  11. [11]
    Fawcett, Dave (June 21, 2023). "Colonial Forge graduate Clara Robbins adjusts to life as a pro soccer player". InsideNoVa.com. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  12. [12]
    "Draft Recap: Courage make four first round selections Thursday". North Carolina Courage. January 12, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  13. [13]
    "Courage sign all four 2023 draft picks". North Carolina Courage. March 13, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  14. [14]
    "Clara Robbins 2023 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  15. [15]
    "Courage place Clara Robbins in Season-Ending Injury list". North Carolina Courage. July 14, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  16. [16]
    "2024 Start-of-Season Roster". North Carolina Courage. March 13, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  17. [17]
    "Clara Schilke announces retirement". North Carolina Courage. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  18. [18]
    Schilke, Clara [@claraarobbins] (July 8, 2023). "Got to marry my best friend! What a day". Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Instagram.
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