It’s November, perhaps the biggest time of year for Clemson United.
Head coach Mike Noonan and his group have been quite the force in the ACC Tournament thus far, taking down both Louisville and Stanford at home to advance to Cary, North Carolina, where the semifinals and final game will take place at WakeMed Soccer Park.
The No. 2 seed Tigers will face the No. 11 seed Cal Golden Bears in the next round of the tournament, which marks a historic time for the West Coast side. The Golden Bears are the lowest seed in the ACC semifinals in tournament history since it began.
For the Tigers, they have a chance to make program history. If they are able to win on Thursday and Sunday — when the final will take place — it will be the first time in program history that the team wins back-to-back ACC Championships.
The Golden Bears are not an easy opponent despite their ranking, however. The team remained in the Research Triangle throughout the tournament, taking down No. 6 North Carolina and No. 3 Duke along the way. It’s a promising start in the ACC for head coach Leonard Griffin and his squad.
If the Tigers win, they will play the winner of No. 5 seed Wake Forest and No. 9 seed Virginia, which will be played at noon on Sunday. A championship win would give the Tigers the top of their respective bracket in the NCAA Tournament, which grants home-field advantage until the College Cup, which also takes place in Cary, North Carolina.
The last time the team played at WakeMed Soccer Park in a NCAA Tournament game? Clemson’s 2021 National Championship win over Washington.
A win would continue the momentum that the Tigers currently have — they have not lost a game since Sept. 27, an away loss in South Bend, Indiana, to Notre Dame.
Kickoff is set for approximately 8 p.m. on Thursday. All games will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
