The Striker and the Clock

Riveting ... A paean to the beautiful game, the book chronicles how Cloepfil overcame adversity to strike joy

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Former footballer Georgia Cloepfil offers a unique and fascinating insight into the mind of a professional athlete in this memoir. Written in 90 “minute long” passages, Cloepfil covers the joys of camaraderie, the agony of injury, and what it means to push yourself to your absolute limits in pursuit of what can inevitably only ever be time-limited excellence

EVENING STANDARD

With the deft and determined movements of a seasoned player, Georgia Cloepfil writes about what it means to endure and what it means to leave a sport behind. In her first book, The Striker and the Clock, Cloepfil examines her elusive ambitions and redirected energies

Leanne Shapton, author of Swimming Studies

This book introduced me to the poetry of soccer and the humble nomad that is the professional female soccer player. Cloepfil’s accomplishments and sacrifices while on the clock left me inspired; her talent on the page has me in awe

Courtney Maum, author of The Year of the Horses

As poetic as anything you’ll read on the early days of pro women’s soccer, on the joys and grim realities of an athlete’s life, on pain tolerance, on the art of sportswriting itself … Cloepfil’s writing helps readers understand why certain athletes, their brains and marriages falling apart, won't just retire

DEFECTOR

Georgia Cloepfil is that rare athlete who can write well about their sport and their passion … In ninety sharp entries mirroring the ninety minutes of play, Cloepfil captures what it’s like to fight so hard to play the game you love

PARADE

This book is for anyone who has ever loved something with everything they had, anyone who has ever turned themselves over to glory, joy, and worship. A necessary and long-awaited entry into the literary sports canon, The Striker and the Clock is a transcendent love affair and an act of devotion

Marisa Crane, author of I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself

With swift and elegant prose, Georgia Cloepfil has written not merely a contemplation on sport and the sporting life, but rather a lyrical exploration on the myriad ways to move forward – be it toward a goal, a dream, that dream's end, or toward a glimpse of the sublime itself. The Striker and the Clock serves as a poignant reminder that both art and sport can gift us fleeting encounters with the extraordinary

Chloé Cooper Jones, author of Easy Beauty