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Men's Soccer
The Men's Soccer team went up to Chapel Hill this weekend to take on the #9 Tar Heels in an important ACC contest. The game started off better than the Tigers could have imagined, going up by 2 goals in the first 35 minutes thanks to Diego Campos and Austin Burnikel. UNC was able to pull within one right before halftime. Besides those 2 goals, Clemson did not have any other shots on goal and just 5 total. UNC on the other hand, had 19 total shots and 11 on goal. This constant pressure by the Tar Heels led to their second goal, this one in the 78th minute. The game was tied at 2-2 with 90 minutes gone, so it went into overtime. A Tar Heel was taken down in the Clemson box for a penalty in the 102nd minute and Carolina was able to convert it for the win.
A loss here is disappointing, especially in the fashion that we did: giving up a PK and a 2-goal lead. Andrew Tarbell played very well in goal, finishing the game with 8 saves. Ara Amirkhanian assisted on the goal from Campos, so its good to see the fullbacks, especially Amrikhanian, get involved in attacking play and creating chances. The Tigers are now 5-5 overall and 2-2 in the ACC for the season, with a Tuesday night home game against Charlotte up next.
I still believe that this team has the taken to make an ACC title run and to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Women's Soccer
Just like the Men's Team, the Lady Tigers played a conference game, this one against Wake Forest, into overtime. This one ended in a 1-1 draw after two periods of overtime. Clemson had actually been shutout in 7 straight games against Wake Forest, dating back to 2007. This year's Demon Deacon is only 3-6-1, so another loss here would not have been good for Clemson. Wake Forest actually scored first, off a set piece in the 71st minute. A few minutes later Clemson was able to tie the game by converting a penalty kick. I'm a bit disappointed by a tie here, since Wake is down this year and Clemson is having a very good year. However, positive results on the road, especially against a team we have struggled against, are nothing to scoff at. Clemson is now 8-2-2 (1-2-1) on the season. I'm a little bit concerned about conference play at the moment but both teams that Clemson has lost to are ranked in the top 8 nationally.
Volleyball
In a recurring theme for all Clemson sports this past weekend, the Volleyball team took on a team from the state to the north, this time, the UNC Tar Heels on Sunday. The Tigers were swept by the #12th ranked Tar Heels, but all three sets came down to the wire. A few days earlier the Tigers had travelled down to Coral Gables to take on the Hurricanes. Clemson lost 3-1 but could have very easily taken it to 5 sets. Clemson is now 11-5 (0-3) with two important ACC matches, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, this upcoming weekend. Those matches will let us know the real strength of this squad and whether or not it can make some noise in the conference this season.