Another weekend of lacrosse has come and gone, and the Clemson men’s club team sits at .500 for the second straight week. The Tigers faced off against the Boston College Eagles on Saturday and the High Point Panthers on Sunday at LoConte Field.
Clemson fell to Boston College in the first game of the weekend, 11-9, then trounced High Point, 31-5, to win its first Atlantic Lacrosse Conference matchup of the season.
Faceoff losses, penalties and untimely turnovers allowed Boston College to score four unanswered goals to end the game.
On Saturday, Clemson struggled to possess the ball, winning just 9-for-24 faceoffs, yet the game was back-and-forth throughout. Boston College jumped out to a 2-0 lead, challenging Clemson early.
The Tigers did not score until they had a two-man advantage due to a series of Boston College penalties. During the power play, senior captain Ian Jackson’s pass to the crease ricocheted off defenders and into the net with 4:10 left in the first quarter, cutting Boston College’s lead to 2-1. Jackson added another goal two minutes later to tie the game at 2-2.
Clemson started the second quarter on man-up, thanks to a two-minute nonreleasable penalty by the Eagles. One minute into the period, Jackson found Jack Wunder for a step-down shot, giving Clemson its first lead of the game, with a score of 3-2. Boston College quickly regained the momentum, scoring three goals in under two minutes. Clemson freshman Trevor Buffone scored to cut the deficit to 5-4 in favor of the Eagles at halftime.
The second began unusually, as Boston College’s goalkeeper Aidan Fassnacht scored an own goal to tie the game at 5-5. Clemson capitalized, scoring twice with goals from Wunder and Landen Snyder. The Tigers held a 7-5 lead before Boston College tied it again, 7-7. Buffone scored his second of the game with less than five seconds left in the third, putting Clemson ahead.
Freshman Tyler Superczynski spun down the right alley to increase the lead early in the fourth, 9-7. It was Superczynski’s sixth goal of the season, and the last time Clemson would score in the contest.
Sunday was a different story. It was Clemson’s first conference matchup in the ALC, and the Tigers seized the opportunity to be undefeated in divisional play. The game stayed close for five minutes until Logan Jordan scored right after winning the faceoff to give Clemson the lead, 3-2. The Tigers never looked back, cruising to a commanding 13-2 lead by the end of the first quarter.
When time expired, Clemson saw 13 scorers contribute to 31 goals.
Leading the charge was Jackson, once again, who netted five goals and dished two assists. Carter Cabay added another two for the Tigers, assisting one goal as well. Snyder not only scored four, but he dealt four assists in the win on Sunday.
Fourteen players found the net in the win against High Point, all hoping to continue to gain momentum into the next part of the season.
The Tigers are on a bye before hitting the road for the rest of February and March. Clemson will look to stay undefeated in conference play next time, playing ALC opponents NC State and Kentucky on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22.
