Sept. 15, 2016 Kiana Clarke, a senior defender, has been a key cog on the back line since she arrived on campus in 2013. Clarke has been capped 73 times, midway through 2016 and was the only player not to be substituted out last season, totalling over 1,300 minutes on the pitch. Clarke paced the defense last year to nine shutouts, the third-highest in single-season program history. Clarke recently caught up with AuburnTigers.com.
Who is the funniest player on the team?
The funniest player on the team, I would say, is Courtney Schell. She's that sarcastic type of funny and she's just funny all the time, so I think she'd be the funniest person on the team. She's not trying really hard to be funny, she's just funny.
What's next for Kiana Clarke?
After my time at Auburn, I'm going to go back down to Florida. I just got a job offer with KPMG, an accounting firm down in Florida. I'll start my job there and kind of start real life after soccer. I'll probably start there in early August after graduating from my master's program.
What's been your favorite moment playing for Auburn so far?
I'd say I have a couple. The top one would be last year making it to the Sweet 16. That was definitely a great moment making history. There's nothing more exciting than that, being part of a team that made history for Auburn soccer. There could have been no better way to end that season and hopefully we can do better this season. I'd also say that a great moment was beating Florida last season. Obviously, I'm from Florida and every goes there, so beating that Florida team was really awesome.
If you were stranded on a desert island and could only watch three movies for the rest of your life, what would they be?
I would say The Proposal. That is a great movie and I just feel like it's a quality comedy. I'd love to have that. Another one would be 27 Dresses. It's a weird movie, but I've just always loved that movie. My best friend and I used to watch it all the time. The third one, I would say, would be The Notebook, just for a romance movie.
Is there a destination that you would like to travel to?
I've gotten to travel a lot with the soccer team, but I'd really like to go back to Italy. I really enjoyed going there, so I feel like that would be my top choice. But, it would be really cool to go to Thailand or a place like that. I went to Italy during my junior year of high school with the region soccer team.
Who's your favorite professional athlete?
I don't really have a favorite, but there are a lot of people that I like watching. I like watching anyone that is doing well and doing what they need to advance in their sport. There's not just one person that is my favorite, I'm just a fan of good athletes.