On Friday night, the Clemson men’s soccer team edged out a 4-3 win against Wake Forest to secure its third ACC win of the season.
The Tigers fired four goals in the back of the net for their second ranked win of the season. The team bounces back following a rough stretch with back-to-back wins.
The first major action in Winston-Salem came quickly in the 12th minute, when Clemson centerback Olafur Floki Stephensen committed a handball offense — which the referee deemed a penalty after video review. Wake midfielder Cooper Flax converted the spot kick and opened the scoring.
Less than two minutes later, the Tigers responded with one of their own thanks to a thunderous strike from Nathan Richmond, taking a deflection on its way in.
Freshman Cooper Hineline assisted the goal, marking his first collegiate start of the night. He put up a strong midfield performance throughout his 75 minutes on the field.
Not long after, Lukas Magnason got his head on a floating, inswinging corner by midfielder Ransford Gyan to give Clemson the lead. However, it took just four minutes for the Demon Deacons to equalize. Tate Lorentz hit a beautiful shot from outside the box into the top right corner.
Without skipping a beat, Clemson recovered the lead with Gyan. The sophomore danced through the box and snuck the ball past the keeper to earn his eighth goal of the season.
Before the break, Wake Forest was able to equalize again. Flax delivered a free kick from deep that Daniel Krueger eventually headed in to tie the score at three.
After a hectic first half composed of defensive errors, viewers saw more discipline from both sides in the second half, but it was ultimately the Tigers who were more threatening and creative on the attack. Gyan slipped a ball into Richmond’s stride, who took it on his right this time, and delivered a low strike to net the winner and his second of the match.
The upset win sends the Tigers to the top of the ACC table. Granted, they have a game in hand over Duke and Virginia, who trail them. Coach Mike Noonan’s squad looks electric offensively, and while not perfect, the performance serves as a statement of how high the ceiling is for this team.
Clemson United returns to the field on Friday at 7 p.m. to take on the Elon Phoenix at Historic Riggs Field.
