Beyond the Goals: Taggart Clark’s Commitment to Philadelphia and the Wings

The Philadelphia Wings were original members of the National Lacrosse League dating back to the first indoor box lacrosse league in 1974, and an original four team when the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse league was started in 1987. Now, Taggart Clark hopes to add to the rich history of Philadelphia lacrosse.

Clark was drafted by the Wings in the first round of the 2022 NLL Entry Draft. After his draft Clark went on to finish his Senior and 5th year at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, where he contributed largely to his team. Some of his accomplishments included being named team captain, being named ASUN Player of the Week three times, being an ASUN Honor Roll student-athlete (2023), being named to the 2023 ASUN All-Tournament team, and finishing his career on a 32-game point streak and 16-game goal streak. Clark didn’t let his offensive dominance rest there.

Since starting his rookie season, Clark has been a massive contributor to the Wings offense. Clark scored a goal against the Toronto Rock on December 9th, also contributing 4 shots on goal and a loose ball recovery. During his home field debut against the Firewolves, Clark had a goal with an additional 2 shots on goal. Most recently, during the Wings Sunday matinee on January 7th, Clark was able to record his first NLL hat-trick against the New York Riptide recording a goal in the first quarter, and two in the third.

When asked about the feeling of scoring his first hat trick, Clark said, “I didn’t wake up that morning expecting to get a hat trick, I woke up wanting to get a win in front of the home crowd”. He went on to call the experience “bittersweet” and mention that he didn’t get to celebrate too hard because they didn’t put forth a good enough effort during the game, and that attitude is what makes Taggart Clark a perfect athlete for the city of Philadelphia.

Being new to the league does not slow him down, the drive that Clark has to continually show out for his team, putting the teams wins and losses above his own career milestones, is the kind of player this city will put on their back with pride. Clark spoke highly of the fans describing them as awesome, and crediting the home crowds with creating an “electric atmosphere”. He shared experiences about meeting fans throughout the city, including the popular Xfinity Live and lounges within the arena. “They’re just super passionate. You’re signing their jerseys and they’re telling you about the past and you just want to make them proud and play well in front of the home crowd”.

Despite his love for the city, Clark is still getting the hang of his new home. “I’m trying to get the compass in my head going to where I’m at and where stuff is,” he spoke when asked about what he’s been able to see in the city so far. Clark did say he wants to eventually make it into the city. Despite not being able to spend too much leisure time throughout Philly, he is using his time to put work in for the team. Living within 10 minutes of the practice facility and having full time access, he says he can always keep a stick in his hands. Clark and the team have been putting the work in for their upcoming home game against the Saskatchewan Rush. “Practice starts Monday for a Saturday game,” said Clark when asked about game preparations.

One of the final questions I asked during the interview was what does he hope to accomplish in his career with the Wings, and he responded with one word, championships. “You can talk about all the personal stuff. I want to be an everyday line up guy, earn that role, establish what I do, working well with other guys inside trying to get other guys open,” but the personal accomplishments were not what Clark hopes to accomplish most, “but the end goal is to win championships,to win multiple championships in front of the city, we know how much it means to the fans, if we were hosting playoff games and wining championships the crowds would just be electric and it would be an awesome city to do it in”.

The Wings host the Saskatchewan Rush this Saturday, January 13th at 7 PM at the Wells Fargo Center, for tickets to this game and more go to https://wingslax.com/.