Clemson Soccer: Men win season opener 3-2 over Indiana

No.1 Clemson Tigers men’s soccer won their season opener 3-2 against the feisty No. 13 Indiana Hoosiers on Friday evening.

Coming off a 2021-2022 National Championship win, the No. 1 ranked Clemson Tigers certainly made a statement in the season opener against the No. 13 Indiana Hoosiers. With Historic Riggs Field rocking with over 3000 fans in attendance, the Tigers were able to overcome a few mistakes with stellar play from Ousmane Sylla.

Collegiate soccer fans were collectively stunned when the Indiana Hoosiers scored the first goal of the game in the 6th minute on an slick steal and chip-in by sophomore forward Sam Sarver. Sarver was able to pressure and capitalize on the mistake by Tigers’ new goalkeeper, Trevor Manion. This is Manion’s first start since taking over following the departure of George Marks.

Clemson Tigers fans wouldn’t be stunned for long. Only minutes later, Ousmane Sylla received a pass in front of the semi-circle and promptly drained a shot into the bottom corner of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

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Mohamed Seye showed a serious amount of determination playing on a torn ACL for the 2021-2022 National Championship team last season.

Just four minutes after Ousmane’s goal, Seye put Clemson up 2-1 at the 12th minute after he picked the ball up at midfield, dribbled past multiple Hoosier players, and made a slick move around the Indiana red-shirted-senior defender Ben Yeagley. Seye ultimately delivered an absolute strike off the left foot into the bottom, right corner of the goal.

In the 52nd minute, senior forward Ryan Wittenbrink scored on a penalty kick to the top right corner, faking out Manion, tying the game 2-2. Tigers junior defender Hamady Diop was caught chasing Hoosier forward Joseph Skinner. Skinner took a tumble in the box, and Diop received the whistle. There was a video review that showed no contact by Diop, but the official did not change the call.

The defending National Champion Clemson Men’s Soccer team opened the 2022 season with a 3-2 victory over No. 13 Indiana in tough match at Riggs Field

Earlier in the year, the NCAA changed its overtime rules for men’s and women’s soccer for the 2022-2023 season. Regular season games will no longer have overtime. When the regular 90 minutes is over, the score will stand.

Ousmane Sylla did not let it get that far. In the 79th minute, he was able to create his own opportunity. After receiving a pass from sophomore midfielder Elton Chifamba, Sylla was able to feign a shot with a slick, hesitation move that set up the actual shot that blew past Hoosier goalkeeper JT Harms.

Ousmane is the player to watch for many experts coming into this season. He earned All-ACC Second Team honors and played significant minutes in the NCAA National Title game against the Washington Huskies last season. His creativity and playmaking ability was on display, scoring his seventh and eight career goals for Clemson.

The Clemson Tigers will look to continue this start on Monday as they take on University of South Carolina-Upstate at home. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ACCNX.