The Clemson Tigers men’s soccer team won their home opener this week with a 2-0 win over the Villanova Wildcats. After falling out of the top 25 last week, the Tigers got back on track with a win over the No. 15 Wildcats.
Sophomore Kimarni Smith scored in the 16th minute off of a cross from Chris Matlashewski. Freshman John Murphy added on to the Tiger lead with a tap-in goal in the 25th minute after a shot from Grayson Barber deflected off the Wildcat goalkeeper. The Tiger defense was stout all night long, as they allowed just one shot on target and earned their third straight shutout.
During the contest, Clemson featured seven freshmen including four as starters. In their first match at the Historic Riggs Field, the young Tigers displayed their talent on a big stage. While this Tiger squad is certainly loaded with talent, the young players are still searching for consistency early in the season. After two quick goals in the first half, the Tigers couldn’t convert on any of their six shots on goal in the second half. Unfortunately for Clemson, the inability to convert carried over into their next match against the Boston College Eagles.
The Tigers were back in action on Friday for their ACC opener against the Boston College Eagles. Despite outshooting the Eagles 15 to 10, the Tigers suffered their second loss of the season by a score of 3-2. With the defeat, the Tigers dropped to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in ACC play.
In the loss, two Tiger defenders, Malick Mbaye and Patrick Bunk-Andersen, picked up their first goals of the season. The Tigers took a 2-1 lead after scoring two goals in less than ten minutes early in the second half. Shortly after however, Boston College’s Simon Enstrom scored two unanswered goals in the 71st and 88th minutes to win the game for the Eagles.
The Tigers will continue their roadtrip on Sunday when they take on the UMass Minutemen. Clemson will look to find some consistency in their next three games before they take on the No. 1 team in the nation, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, on Sept. 21. After the match against UMass, the Tigers will return home for matches against Syracuse and Furman before taking on Wake Forest.