The Clemson men’s soccer team began their national title defense with a win over Penn State, defeating the Nittany Lions by a score of 3-0 at Historic Riggs Field on Thursday night.
Forward Alex Meinhard led the charge for the Tigers, getting a knee on the ball from a Remi Okunlola cross to put it past goalkeeper Andrew Cooke to open the scoring. Early in the second half, he found another chance and fired a shot that deflected off a Penn State defender and ended up in the net.
“It’s always good to score a goal,” Meinhard said after the game. “It’s always a great feeling, but at the end of the day, we got the win, and we scored three goals as a team, so it’s even better.”
The other goal came from Virginia Tech transfer Misei Yoshizawa, who made space inside the box and sent a leftie shot to close out the scoring in the first half.
Despite the dominating win, Penn State found a tempo that initially limited the defending champions from finding success. After needing a few minutes to gel, Clemson United cruised to victory.
“They didn’t play at the pace that they needed to,” head coach Mike Noonan said of his squad’s slow start. “That was a problem early on.”
Though a new defensive line may cause preseason concern, the Tigers opened the season with a clean sheet. Returning goalkeeper Joseph Andema had two saves that helped keep the shutout, aided by the performance of graduate defender Titus Sandy Jr.
“He and (Lundegard) did a really good job holding them at bay,” Noonan said. “He is a fifth-year and hasn’t started a lot of games, but he was ready to play today, for sure.”
Before the game, Clemson unveiled its fourth national championship banner with the help of former captain Brandon Parrish, who returned to campus for the presentation.
The Tigers will be back in action on Friday at 7 p.m. when they will travel to Columbia to play the South Carolina Gamecocks in their annual Palmetto Series match. While any game in a rival stadium is difficult, Noonan is ready for the challenge.
“They’re a very good team that’s had a very good preseason,” Noonan said. “We are excited to get down there and put it on again.”
