CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson men’s soccer team (10-5-1, 3-4-1 ACC) shut out NC State (6-6-4, 2-5-1 ACC) on senior night at Historic Riggs field by a final score of 3-0. The Tigers needed all three goals to earn the eight seed on a tiebreaker in the ACC Tournament, which granted them a home game in the first round.
On the importance of earning a home match, Head Coach Mike Noonan stated, “We’re on a two game winning streak at home, and I’ve always said it’s not who you play but where you play, and home field advantage is the biggest part of any playoff match.”
The Tigers and Wolfpack went back and forth for the first twenty minutes of the match, but in the 23rd minute, Isaiah Reid was fouled inside the box and was awarded a penalty kick. Hamady Diop converted the try to score his first goal of the season and give Clemson a 1-0 lead with 21 minutes left in the half.
In the final minutes of the first half, freshman Isaiah Easley scored his sixth career goal thanks to a stellar feed from Nathan Richmond, who was assisted by Marco Garcia. The brilliant build up put the Tigers up 2-0 as the first 45 minutes came to a close.
Goalkeeper Joseph Andema’s clean sheet was threatened early in the second half with a free position kick by Luke Hill to the top right of the goal, but Andema made a fantastic diving save to stop the shot. Clemson’s defense silenced the Wolfpack’s efforts in the second half to shut them out. Clemson outshot the Wolfpack 11-2 over the full 90 minutes.
Late in the game, Clemson converted a crucial corner kick to score yet again. A ball played into the crowded box caremed off an NC State defender and into the net, giving the Tigers the crucial third goal they needed to earn the tiebreaker over Notre Dame on goals for.
On the team’s performance, Noonan said, “I thought there was a lot of composure in the team tonight. I thought there was a lot of fluidity, and more than anything else we defended exceptionally well.”
Up next, the Tigers will host the ninth seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Wednesday, Nov. 2, for the first round of the ACC tournament. The time of kickoff and broadcast information are to be announced.
