Rachel Clark helps lead FSU lacrosse into year two

Assistant coach Rachel Clark is in her second year coaching Florida State’s women’s lacrosse team. Outside of her coaching responsibilities, Clark plays professionally for the Boston Guard in the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL), where she led the league in goals and points as a rookie and was named 2026 Attacker of the Year.The Seminoles went 4-12 overall and 0-10 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play in their inaugural season. As the program heads into year two, Clark, who works primarily with the offense, said the staff expects a different result.“The coaching staff has talked about it nonstop about how much we believe in this group. We were blown away by the jump from last year's team to this year's team,” Clark said to the FSView. “We're excited and I think that every single person who's a part of this staff and making this program run has 100 percent belief that we are going to make a real splash in the ACC this year.”Building a cultureFSU added four transfers this summer, along with a new freshman class and changes to the coaching staff. With many new faces, Clark said the team will have to come together quickly. She’s leaning on what she learned during Boston College’s 2024 championship season, when the team’s daily approach mattered as much as its talent.Never miss a beat: Sign up for the FSView Newsletter“The year our team was the most successful, yes we were very talented, but that's not what got us the championships,” Clark said. “It's because every single day we were practicing like it was a championship game and we were playing not for ourselves but, for example, I was playing for the seniors to play another day on the field.”On offense, Clark works with a group led last season by Meg Kenny, who finished with a team-high 43 points, and Summer Harrell, who added 37. Both recorded eight multi-goal games.A record-setting careerBefore she was drawing up plays, Clark was one of the most prolific scorers in college lacrosse. The Devon, Pennsylvania, native was ranked the No. 9 recruit in the Class of 2021 by Inside Lacrosse and started two seasons at University of Virginia, where she was named 2022 ACC Freshman of the Year and led the team in 2023 with 63 goals and 76 points.After transferring to Boston College, Clark led the team with 101 points and 78 goals as a junior, helping them defeat Northwestern for the 2024 national championship. Her senior season featured a program-record 106 goals, earning her ACC Attacker of the Year honors and a spot as a Tewaaraton Award finalist.Clark broke the previous record of 102, set by Charlotte North in 2021, with an eight-goal performance against Yale University in the 2025 NCAA quarterfinals. North, a two-time Tewaaraton winner, called Clark “one of the best goal scorers we will see in this sport,” according to the Premier Lacrosse League.Clark finished her college career with 311 goals and 380 points. She has kept scoring since, leading the WLL in its inaugural season as a rookie with 18 goals, 23 points, and the league lead in total shots for the Boston Guard.A new chapterClark finished her playing career at Boston College in May 2025, and the ’Noles named her to their first coaching staff that July. She said the decision to coach came later than most people might expect.“I honestly didn't really plan that I was going to coach, I wouldn't say up until my senior year was when I decided that I really wanted to coach at the next level,” Clark said. “I always was thinking about nursing or teaching and after I finished playing I realized I wasn't ready to get away from the game.”Before arriving in Tallahassee, Clark coached youth players through private lessons and clubs, including Dynasty Elite Lacrosse and Philly Blast. For her, the FSU job offered a familiar conference and a fresh start.“As a player I always wanted to compete at the highest level, and when I was thinking about coaching, the same thing applied,” Clark said. “I always wanted to stay in the ACC, it’s the conference I played in. I think it’s the best conference in the country. And with a brand-new ACC program in Florida I was like, ‘I have to try for this opportunity.’”Clark’s ultimate goal for the Garnet and Gold’s spring 2027 season is to play hard and win. After a winless first run through the ACC, she said she has seen what her players can do and believes they can accomplish more within the conference.“You want to make history and we have what we need to do it, so get excited,” Clark said. “I am most looking forward to our first ACC win.”Gretchen Knight is a Staff Writer for the FSView & Florida Flambeau, the student-run, independent online news service for the FSU community. Email our staff at contact@fsview.com.This article originally appeared on FSU News: Rachel Clark helps lead FSU lacrosse into year two