The Clemson men’s soccer team saw its 2024 season come to a close Sunday night, losing to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in extra time 2-1 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers, who were the defending champions entering the season, had momentum entering the tournament, reaching the ACC Championship and finishing in second place in the ACC standings following the regular season. However, a golden-goal winner from Wake Forest’s Dylan Borso sent the team home, and the title defense was over.
While midfielder Ransford Gyan scored the opening goal from an Arthur Duquenne cross, the team was unable to hold its lead at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, suffering its second loss in two weeks to the Demon Deacons.
The dreams of back-to-back titles and three titles in the span of four years was crushed.
Despite the loss, the team has a lot of positives to look back on when looking at the overall season. The team reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The Tigers reached their 37th NCAA Tournament in program history, a credit to head coach Mike Noonan and his squad for being one of the most dominant teams in college soccer.
With regard to individual awards, midfielder Joran Gerbet took home the ACC Midfielder of the Year honors, leading the Tigers in assists with eight and recording 22 points on the season, second on the team. Alongside the individual honor, Gerbet earned a first-team All-ACC spot as well.
Joining Gerbet was forward Alex Meinhard, who earned a first-team All-ACC spot, leading the team in goals and points, with 11 and 23, respectively.
Freshman Gyan earned himself the ACC Freshman of the Year honor, recording five goals and six assists in his opening season. After scoring the opening goal in the Tigers’ final game this season, the freshman will look to build off of his standout season if he does not declare for the MLS SuperDraft, which will take place later this month.
The team will look to reload and get back to the top of the ACC and the college soccer world next season. The handful of recruits joining the team and Noonan’s tendency to use the transfer portal will work to boost the squad.
If there are many key players that return to the squad next fall, Clemson United will be looking for its third national championship in five seasons.
