Skinner surpasses 111 goals and counting for Clarkston

Rebecca Skinner knew that her kick that sent the ball to the back of the net in the 75th minute of Clarkston’s 5-1 win over North Central of Spokane in September would be her 100th career high school goal.

“I knew I had one more to go to get there,” Skinner said. “So I knew in that moment, I was like, ‘This is it. It goes in that’s 100,’ and I had a little bit of celebration after that, but it was really surreal. It was fun.”

Skinner, a Clarkston High School senior and 2025 Washington State women’s soccer commit, said she was not aware of how close she was to 100 until she saw in the Lewiston Tribune that she was five away.

Skinner’s path to 100 goals (and counting) accelerated when she scored 37 goals her junior year to break Clarkston’s school record and sit at 84 goals after three years. A four-year starter, she led the Bantams to the state tournament last season in coach Mackenzie Murdoch’s first year at the helm.

As of Tuesday, Skinner has 111 goals as a Bantam and 27 in her senior season with six regular season games remaining, plus possible postseason play.

“Becca (Skinner) was the player she was far before I came along,” Murdoch said. “I’m honored to just be a part of what she’s doing, and I’m excited to go watch her at WSU and hopefully professional one day.”

Skinner said her success would not be possible without her teammates making plays.

“A lot of my goals are coming off their success and their plays,” Skinner said. “So very thankful for my team.”

Around her freshman year of high school, Skinner joined the Spokane Sounders, a Girls Academy League soccer team that travels across the Pacific Northwest and the country.

She began receiving college offers as soon as she was allowed her junior year per NCAA rules. Growing up 50 minutes from Pullman, Skinner had attended WSU soccer matches since she was a child and strongly considered the program with a track record of producing professional players and competing and winning against the best.

WSU has produced nine National Women’s Soccer League players over the past nine years, including the U.S. Women’s National Team’s Trinity Rodman (although she did not play a game at WSU because of the pandemic) and 2022 NWSL Champion Morgan Weaver. The Cougs reached college soccer’s final four, “The College Cup,” in 2019.

Skinner took several visits to Pullman as part of her recruiting process and got to know the Cougar student-athletes and the reasons they chose Wazzu.

“They know you’re there to compete,” Skinner said. “They’re there to win. They’re there to improve. And they know it. They want that. So I mean, (I’m) going into that ready to give everything with them ... to help that team achieve great things.”

Skinner has known that soccer was her thing for at least a decade.

“I’ve put everything into soccer, and I see myself going very, very far,” she said. “So I know this is a place I want to be. On the field, it’s my space. It’s my time to let go and shine. (I) definitely want to take it to the highest level possible.”

Skinner played high school soccer with her older sister, who was a senior when she was a freshman. When her sister graduated, Skinner needed a club team to join. With no options in the valley or on the Palouse for her level, Skinner joined the Spokane Sounders, which required two practices a week in Spokane plus the games in Spokane or around the region on the weekend.

The Spokane Sounders gave Skinner the chance to compete against the best players in the region and some of the best from around the country.

“My family’s done everything for me. I mean, countless hours and money, going to Spokane, like, three to four times a week,” Skinner said.

Rebecca Skinner’s mom, Lindsey Skinner, said the drives to and from Spokane and financial commitments are more than worthwhile because of her daughter’s drive to earn everything.

“Yeah, I get her there, but she’s put all the time in, you know, she’s put the effort, she’s put the hard work and sweat into the field and creating ... her opportunities to go and play college ball,” Lindsey Skinner said. “So that time, and spending that time with her, it’s definitely worth it to see where she’s gone and where she has a future to go.”

Not only has Rebecca Skinner dominated at the high school and club levels, she has separated herself through her personal preparation.

Rebecca Skinner said that she spends around three or four hours a day in soccer-related activities six or seven days a week, depending on her schedule and condition.

Murdoch said it is not uncommon to see Becca’s car at the VYSA Smith Soccer Complex in Lewiston and to see her running drills and practicing shots on her own.

“Even, like, 30 minutes more than someone else, you’re getting yourself better as you go,” Rebecca Skinner said. “Definitely around high school, I really realized that you got to put in the extra work if you want to make it far.”

She also takes her role as a leader and on-field mentor seriously.

“I am a mentor on the field, and I love it, because being a mentor, you’re not only helping others in seeing what you can see in them and how they can improve, but when you’re helping others, you’re improving yourself,” Skinner said. “Soccer is a very high-IQ game, and as you help other people, you sharpen your mind.”

The part of her daughter playing college soccer that Lindsey Skinner is perhaps most excited about, is the chance to watch the majority of her games within less than an hour’s drive from the valley.

“Better than having to do our two-hour trips to Spokane and back,” Lindsey Skinner said. “Definitely awesome to be able to go and see her play at that elite level, and have the opportunity to see that many games.”

While her friends, family and mentors are ecstatic to watch her play college soccer so close to home, Murdoch said the inspiration and impact Becca has had on the culture of the Clarkston soccer community is huge.

Murdoch said the youth boys team in Clarkston that she coaches looks up to Becca.

“They all look up to her and to have boys soccer look up to a female soccer player. I mean, that’s already huge,” Murdoch said. “What else could you ask for: little boys looking up to a girl. I think it’s awesome.”

Rebecca Skinner is in the exclusive club of high school soccer players to score over 100 goals. Her talent and drive has given Clarkston the chance to qualify for state for a second straight year as the Bantams enter the home stretch of the season before she takes the next step of her journey just 50 minutes up the road at WSU.

How she got to this point is far from a mystery, especially to those who watch her work every day.

“Everybody practices,” Murdoch said. “She does the work outside of practice, and that’s why she’s the player she is.”

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.