Aly Clarke needed a break from soccer, time to be a normal kid.

"Going to practice in Farmington turns into a four-hour thing," she said. "An hour ride there and an hour ride back."

So, in the middle of her sophomore year at Fitch High School, she did the unthinkable. She gave up the only sport she ever played.

Then, one day during her hiatus, Clarke went to see her premier team, the Farmington Sports Arena Football Club, play in the State Cup final. She didn't expect to be emotional about it one way or the other. Only she was. She called it a flood of emotions. Clarke cried.

Then she came back to make history at Fitch.

Clarke, who just finished her senior season for the Falcons, was named The Day's 2014 All-Area Girls' Soccer Player of the Year. A two-time all-state selection at forward, Clarke is the first girls' soccer player in program history to earn all-state honors. She is a three-time All-ECC Large Division pick.

Clarke, 17, joins her dad, Todd, a 1986 Fitch graduate who was also an all-state selection and The Day's Player of the Year. Todd Clarke was a member of the inaugural class of the Fitch High School Athletic Hall of Fame, inducted in November.

Clarke has given a verbal commitment to play next season for Division II Southern Connecticut State University.

"From what I've seen in four years, she's respected by every player on every top team," Fitch coach Todd Higgins said of Clarke, his two-year captain. "You know how baseball has five-tool players? She's a five-tool soccer player. She can do anything on the soccer field.

"One thing that makes her remarkable is the fact that everyone else's team knows she's the big scoring threat that we had. She's marked man-to-man by at least one girl, sometimes two, sometimes three. And she's still able to play her game and score goals and help the other girls on the team."

For the Clarkes, soccer is a family endeavor. Aly wears Todd's old No. 9 and the same type of cleats he wore, Pumas. They watch soccer on TV together; they're big New England Revolution fans. Also, despite the fact Aly has her license, Todd drives her to all of her premier practices in Farmington.

"He's addicted to it," she said of her dad. "Soccer brings us really close."

Higgins said that however good Clarke is at soccer, she also "just gets it as a young adult, how you treat people."

That comes shining through in Clarke's participation in Fitch's Unified physical education program for those with disabilities and a group of helpers or partners. She can't participate in the Unified program for soccer because that's the sport she plays, but competes with the Unified basketball team. She has taken Unified PE every semester of her junior and senior year.

It's made her want to major in kinesiology so that she can be a physical therapist caring for special needs kids.

"I'm not a patient person, but with them, I see how happy they get," Clarke said. "I see them more as my equals. I don't think of them as any different. It puts a lot of things in perspective. They love it. On days they have games, they wear their shirts to school."

Clarke, although she considers herself more of a distributor, playing forward out of necessity for Fitch, finished the season with 11 goals, 36 for her career. The Falcons finished this season 3-13, but Clarke hopes she helped spark some interest in the team.

"It's fun. Getting to represent your school is so much fun. It's a great group," she said.

And most of all, Clarke - on a trip to Orlando, Fla., with her premier team over Christmas break - doesn't see herself quitting soccer again. Not ever.

"I'm always going to be involved in soccer somewhere," she said. "Even if it's a co-ed league once a week. When I have kids, I'd love to coach them and things like that. … It was always in my family. I stuck with it. I challenged myself and it made me better."

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday

The Day's 2014 All-Area Girls' Soccer Team

Player of the Year - Aly Clarke (Fitch)

Forward - Meredith Aird (Old Lyme), Claire Hurley (Waterford), Izzy Moore (East Lyme)

Midfield - Theresa Durkee (East Lyme), Kelly Lamb (Ledyard), Samantha Lee (East Lyme)

Defense - Megan Holt (East Lyme), Alston Rountree (Old Lyme), Sally Scarpa (Waterford), Sarah Thomas (Stonington)

Goalie - Gabi Hoops (Stonington)

Utility - Shannon Amarello (St. Bernard)