There are few things in sports sweeter than getting revenge, beating a rival or winning a trophy. On Thursday night, No. 10 Clemson did all three.

The Tigers put on a show in front of thousands at Historic Riggs Field, shutting down No. 3 South Carolina 12-8, avenging last year’s loss and bringing home the Palmetto Bowl trophy.

Energy was high under the lights. Fans, parents and students — even the Clemson Tiger mascot — packed the stands for the highly anticipated top-10 matchup. Their Tigers did not disappoint.

Clemson, 9-2, 4-1 ALC, wasted no time, winning the opening faceoff and scoring just 68 seconds into the contest. Holden Morrison buried a step-down shot off an assist from Tyler Superczynski. Landen Snyder and Aidan McNulty followed with goals to push the lead to 3-0. Clemson took a 5-1 advantage to end the first quarter as Morrison completed a hat trick.

Those in attendance witnessed a determined, unrelenting and physical defensive performance from the Tigers. Clemson outhustled South Carolina to every groundball and disrupted passing lanes, causing turnover after turnover.

Though the referees were unafraid to throw the penalty flag, the Tigers were less afraid to lay punishing hits. Combined with a slicker playing surface, Gamecock players hit the turf more often than their shots found the back of the net.

Whenever South Carolina managed to break through Clemson’s defense, however, Emerson Smith would slam the door. The sophomore goalkeeper has logged back-to-back 20-save performances, delivering his best performance of the season on the biggest stage.

“It starts with the defense,” Smith said. “I mean, what a great venue, everything. It’s just coming off hot, getting that first goal, getting that momentum, rolling through it all, making saves, seeing the ball.”

Clemson headed into the season with a question mark in the cage after losing its previous goaltender to graduation. Still, the Tigers found their answer immediately when Smith took command of the irons.

The Charlotte, North Carolina, native stuffed the Gamecock attack on the doorstep countless times, rendering a nationally top-scoring offense ineffective with a 71.4% save percentage. But the player of the game won’t take all the credit.

“It’s a whole team effort, a whole team win here,” he said. “I’m so appreciative of Coach Tobias and the whole coaching staff here for having faith in me, letting me stay in there and dog it out for the whole game.”

Clemson’s faceoff unit handled business, securing possession on 81.8% of faceoffs. Cisco Coletto and Logan Jordan took 11 draws each, winning nine and eight, respectively.

Though the Tigers lost their leading scorer, McNulty, to injury early in the contest, the offensive machine pummeled the Gamecocks with shots, leading 11-4 before taking its foot off the gas in the second half.

Morrison tallied two assists to total a team-leading 5 points on the night. Daniel McNulty grabbed a third-quarter hat trick, Snyder scored two goals, and Gennaro Petrongolo dished out two assists. Superczynski, Ty Bleach and Carter Gregory logged one goal and one assist each.

South Carolina, 10-3, 3-0 SELC, netted three goals late in the fourth to make the scoreboard prettier, but it was too little, too late. The Gamecocks have now lost two games in a row to end their regular season, hoping to reset before the SELC Playoffs on April 17.

Clemson, however, has back-to-back ranked wins heading into the final three-game stretch. All of the teams left to play on the schedule are conference opponents: NC State, No. 4 Tennessee and James Madison University. Though there’s no easy road ahead, the Tigers are undeterred.

“I’m feeling great,” Smith said. “Little banged up, but that never stopped anybody. Just excited to see where we go, big couple games coming up here and couldn’t be more excited to keep on going with my guys.”

With the Palmetto Bowl trophy staying in Tigertown and a jump in the MCLA polls inbound, Clemson will return to action against NC State on April 10 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and again two days later against No. 4 Tennessee at Spartanburg High School.