After a successful 2019 season which saw the Clemson men’s soccer team reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, the Tigers enter the 2020 season as the No. 2 team in the country according to United Soccer Coaches. Returning several key players, the Tigers are positioned to make another deep run in the NCAA tournament this year.
Before the Tigers set their sights on the NCAA tournament however, they will have to battle their way through a treacherous ACC conference. Currently, the top five teams in the country are all ACC opponents. Though the Tigers will only play six ACC games on their shortened schedule, they will still have to play No. 1 Wake Forest twice along with North Carolina, Duke and NC State.
The biggest loss of the offseason for the Tigers was certainly the departure of 2019’s leading goalscorer and Hermann trophy winner Robbie Robinson to the MLS. Though the parting of Robinson and his 18 goals will certainly be felt, the Tigers are as equipped as any team to handle such a massive loss. Kimarni Smith, a Hermann trophy hopeful himself, is returning for his senior season after racking up 13 goals and five assists in 2019, totals that should only increase with Robinson out of the picture. Along with Smith, Clemson will return Phillip Mayaka in the midfield. As a freshman in 2019, Mayaka was the catalyst for Clemson’s midfield both offensively and defensively, earning himself a spot on the 2019 All-Freshman first team. Both Mayaka and Smith represent Clemson on the 2020 Preseason All-American First Team.
Oskar Agren and Justin Malou return to anchor the Clemson defense while junior George Marks will return in net. Grayson Barber will return in the midfield after a breakout season a year ago that saw him score ten goals and assist on nine more. With these key veterans returning along with the influx of ten new players, the Tigers certainly have the talent to be one of the top teams in the nation.
A season ago, Clemson’s identity was a high scoring team that could rack up goals in the blink of an eye. Led by the dynamic scoring duo of Robinson and Smith, the Tigers scored a nation-leading 3.5 goals per game. While it’s reasonable to expect the Tigers to take a step back from their rapid goal scoring pace from 2019, the hope is that an improved defense and midfield can help make the Tigers a more complete team.
The Tigers open their schedule on Thursday, Oct. 1 against in-state rival South Carolina hoping to continue their dominant streak of five straight wins against the Gamecocks. Most years, the Tigers would have played more than ten games by the time October comes around, but this year, the Tigers will be lacing up their cleats for the first time all season for one of the most emotional, hard fought games of the season.
