Soccer Roundup - The Wins Keep Coming

Men’s Recap

2-1 Victory vs Virginia Tech

It doesn’t get more exciting than a game-winning volley with 5 seconds on the clock! Virginia Tech and Clemson battled back and forth in a competitive match in which Clemson found itself ahead early thanks to an excellent assist from Sylla (more on him in just a moment):

The game would remain tied until just before the 70’ when Tech’s Misei Yoshizawa would equalize things off a gorgeous controlled volley. Yoshizawa took the pass from Kinyua and perfectly controlled it off his chest to rocket the shot past Joseph Andema, and things were all tied up at 1-1 with just 20 minutes of play remaining.

Fortunately for Clemson, that wouldn’t be the only volley of the day. With 9 seconds remaining on the clock, Nathan Richmond sent a not-so-great corner kick straight to a Hokie defender, who headed the ball dangerously up in front of the goal. Sylla was there to capitalize, and although he didn’t quite connect with the ball like he wanted, a miraculous deflection ricocheted the ball into the net for the game-winner:

Shades of Scott Sterling if you ask me, but a win is a win! The Tigers probably should have scored a few more times but made some errors in front of the net to necessitate the epic corner-kick finish. Andema recorded seven saves and continues to be a wall for this Clemson defense. The last-second heroics lifted Clemson United to 6-3-1 (2-2) on Friday night.

Women’s Recap

5-1 Victory vs Syracuse

Clemson Football’s 31-14 win over the Orange wasn’t the only beatdown Syracuse would receive on Saturday, as the #8 Lady Tigers crushed their opposing visitors 5-1 to improve to 9-1-2 (4-1) on the year.

The Tigers didn’t take long to start the scoring, as electric freshman Tatum Short tucked away a pass from Makenna Morris to make it 1-0 less than two minutes after kickoff.

17 first-half shots would make way for the Tigers’ second goal of the night off a corner kick via Emily Brough in the 35’. Syracuse would respond with their only shot attempt of the half thanks to a somewhat unexpected but beautifully placed shot from Erin Flurey.

The 2-1 score wouldn’t hold for long as Clemson’s leading scorer Makenna Morris secured a goal of her own in the 53’. Caroline Conti followed Morris up in the 70’ with a similarly placed shot, while Jenna Tobia netted her fourth goal of the year just minutes later:

Clemson would end the night with 29 shots compared to just 2 from Syracuse, completely controlling this match from start to finish.

Upcoming Matches

The men now have a chance to really take control of their season with what should be a light match against Winthrop tonight at 7 PM before a big Friday-night showdown with the 7-2-1 Louisville Cardinals.

The Lady Tigers will host a decent Virginia squad on Thursday night and then travel to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies on Sunday.