During his time with the UBC Thunderbirds soccer team, Paul Clerc racked up numerous accomplishments.
The Coquitlam athlete was a part of a team that won back-to-back national championships and he took home several individual awards, like his 2013 first-team CIS All-Canadian and a student-athlete community award. He was also inducted into the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame's yearly Wall of Fame for top male college athlete.
Now, with the 2014 season behind him and his five-year university eligibility coming to a close, the 22-year-old player is setting his sights on a new challenge: medical school.
"I have written the MCAT and I hope to apply this fall," he said. "I'm going to take a bit of a break from soccer. I just need to decompress a bit. It is a very short, hard season."
Clerc's soccer career ends on a relatively successful season for the Thunderbirds.
The club made the playoffs, but unfortunately lost to Alberta 2-0 in the Canada West semifinals. However, Clerc and the T-birds won the consolation game to take third place in the conference.
He said it would have been nice to finish his university career with another national championship.
CLERC ENDS CAREER ON A HIGH NOTE
But he added that it was nice to put the jersey on one last time during the game last week.
"Knowing it was the last game put some urgency into it," he said. "During the game you don't have much time to reflect on it as much. Your focus is on autopilot."
While university soccer may be behind Clerc, he said he hopes to keep playing, although not at the high level he is accustomed to.
He noted that there are many leagues around the Lower Mainland and that he has already received a few offers to play when he is ready to get back into the game.
"On the one hand, it is sad and kind of demoralizing that I don't get to come back next season and avenge this year's loss," he said. "But now I can start to experience other things that I might be interested in. I know there are a lot of opportunities out there."
