At some point soon — perhaps as soon as next month, if all goes well — two of America’s finest college soccer coaches will meet in the NCAA tournament.

It’s inevitable, given the stature of their programs. And when it happens, when Washington’s Jamie Clark finally squares off against the legend that is Notre Dame’s Bobby Clark, head man of the defending national champion Irish and, oh, yeah, Jamie’s father, the emotions will be precisely what you’d expect.

Pride and love and respect, all mixed together in an uneasy atmosphere, because only one will be moving on.

“We’ll find out who his Mum really loves, I suppose,’’ Bobby said with a hearty laugh over the phone. “Unfortunately, I possibly know the answer.”

That’s a Clark for you, always with a twinkle, always looking for the fun in situations. It’s worked brilliantly for Bobby during a 30-year coaching career that has taken him from his native Scotland to Zimbabwe (to coach a pro team), New Zealand (as their national coach), Dartmouth, Stanford and, since, 2001, South Bend.

“I run into someone once a week who tells me how good a man my father is,’’ Jamie said. “At some point, they’re accurate because there’s too many people who say it about him.’’

And there’s unquestionably a lot of Bobby in Jamie, who since taking over the Washington job in 2011 has restored the Huskies to prominence. After closing the season against Oregon State on Sunday at Husky Soccer Field (1 p.m.), Washington will once again be a high seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament, with an eye on supplanting Notre Dame as the champions.

Which might require that aforementioned head-to-head showdown, depending on how the brackets unfold.

“It would be fun,’’ Jamie said. “The reason I don’t mind it is that one of us would play another round.”

Jamie shares his dad’s core belief that fostering a positive environment is the essence of a successful team, and program. He remembers reading a story in which Bobby Knight and Mike Krzyzewski discussed whether you get more from players if they love you, or fear you. No debate on where the Clarks come down.

“I’m not a fear guy,’’ Jamie said. “Could I potentially push them for one iota more? Maybe, but I don’t agree with that, because I think they actually give you more when they want to work for you. I’m a believer if guys are happy, they’ll perform.”

That’s his dad’s philosophy in a nutshell – “It’s a game, after all,’’ Bobby said from North Carolina, on the eve of the ACC tournament.

Not surprising they should mesh in their beliefs, considering Jamie played for his dad as an All-American at Stanford, then coached under him for two seasons at Notre Dame before launching his head-coaching career at Harvard in 2008.

That doesn’t even count what was picked up by osmosis hanging around his father and his teams.

“You hope the good points rub off and the bad points missed out in him,’’ said Bobby.

Bobby Clark’s soccer acumen is so respected that Sounders coach Sigi Schmid, in his formative years, took every opportunity he could to soak up the knowledge.

“When I was a young coach,’’ Schmid said, “I remember buying him a beer and asking him how to play a 4-4-2 (formation) and how to defend it – making sure I didn’t drink any beer so I could listen and take it all in, which was hard at the time.”

A legendary goalkeeper in Scotland — he was named to the Aberdeen Dons all-time team, and played for the Scottish national team that made the World Cup finals in 1978 — Bobby Clark ensured that all three kids of his and wife Bette have a soccer core. Daughter Jennifer is associate head coach at Castleton State College in Vermont. Son Tommy, a physician, is founder and CEO of Grassroot Soccer, whose mission is to mobilize the global soccer community in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Jamie turned to coaching when his professional career fizzled after just two seasons because of injury.

“People always said I was a coach on the field,’’ Clark said. “I think that basically means I wasn’t very athletic. I had to use my brain.”

Initially pondering law school, Clark went to Albuquerque to help his brother, in medical school at the time, set up a website. But New Mexico coach Jeremy Fishbein invited him to help him coach the Lobos, and a career was born. Clark left the head-coaching job at Creighton after one year to take over the Huskies, who had missed the NCAA tournament in the four previous years.

Clark’s teams have won wherever he’s been, and that continued at Washington. He was given a four-year extension in February after guiding the Huskies to a 41-11-5 record in his first three seasons, including their first-ever NCAA quarterfinal appearance last year.

Clark sees Seattle as the ideal spot to build a thriving program because of its well-established soccer culture.

“It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy,’’ he said. “Kids believe it’s a big-time sport, so more kids are playing. The more kids play, the better they’re going to be. We’re going to be the recipient, if we do things right, of some of those kids. Not every one, but we’ll try to keep as many home as possible.”

One they kept home was Darwin Jones from Mount Rainier High School, an all-league performer last year and the Huskies’ leading scorer this year. Jones said he loves the atmosphere at Washington.

“It’s real free,’’ he said. “Jamie is like a friend, coach and father figure. He never puts weight on your shoulder. It’s like, ‘Go out and have fun.’ He understands our problems, our issues, and he’s always there for us.’’

Another leading Huskies performer, Cristian Roldan, thrives on the latitude Clark gives his players to be creative on the attack.

“We play a pressing style, but we also show our freedom in the front six,’’ Roldan said. “It definitely helps to be in a very great environment to just be able to express ourselves.”

Clark, however, says that freedom comes with a caveat.

“We hold them accountable,’’ he said. “If given freedom, then you have to go and do it. ... Show your skills, show your flair. Guys like that, but we call them on it pretty quick if there’re not getting it.”

At one point last year, Washington and Notre Dame were the only unbeaten teams in Division I. The two schools were on a collision course for a meeting in the national semifinals — on Jamie’s 37th birthday, no less — until the Huskies suffered a 1-0 loss to New Mexico in the quarters. Notre Dame went on to win it all, with Jamie and just about every player Bobby had ever coached, it seemed, in attendance. It was his first title after coming close numerous times.

“He had so much goodwill across the country that there was no way he could have lost it,’’ Jamie said.

This year, the Huskies ascended to No. 1 in the country after a 9-1 start, and are currently ranked ninth at 12-4-1. Clark believes that if they can tighten their defense, they have a shot to go all the way. Again, that comes with an important caveat.

“We can win a national championship with this team,’’ he said. “But there’s probably 10 to 15 teams that can really be said about. The NCAA tournament is a tricky situation. You can play poorly one game in soccer and get knocked out.”

Whatever happens, Clark is hunkered down for a long, successful coaching career — just when his father, aged 69, is in the twilight of his.

“We do it in different ways, but I think I get all my belief in how people should be treated from him,’’ Jamie said.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @StoneLarry

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