Clemson Men’s Soccer: Tigers take down No. 1 Blue Devils in ACC Tourney

Clemson Men’s Soccer took down No. 1 seed and previously unbeaten Duke Sunday night in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament by a score of 2-0.

With the victory, Clemson became the first 8 seed to make it to the ACC Semifinals since 2016.

Playing on the road the Tigers were aggressive from the start and dominated the action in a rough and tumble first half, but couldn’t put the ball in the net during the first 45 minutes having to settle for a 0-0 tie at the half despite outshooting the Blue Devils 7-4 in the period.

Derek Waleffe scored his first goal of the season with 19 minutes remaining in the match to put the Tigers ahead, 1-0.

Waleffe’s goal put Duke behind for the first time since October 1 and ended the Blue Devils shutout streak at six consecutive matches.

The urgency was clear from Duke from that point on as the Blue Devils repeatedly advanced the ball only to by stymied by Clemson’s defense.

Then with just 59 seconds remaining Brandon Parrish split two defenders, dribbled through the box and scored the Tigers second goal in incredible fashion, sealing the game for Clemson.

Tiger goalkeeper Joseph Andema recorded his seventh shutout in thirteen matches on the season with plenty of help from his defense which harangued and harassed the Blue Devils all evening.

Clemson improved to 12-5-1 on the season, while Duke fell to 11-1-4.

The competition doesn’t ease up for Clemson Men’s Soccer as up next is Wake Forest

Up next for the Tigers will be Wake Forest, which defeated Clemson 6-1 earlier this season, in a match that will be shown on the ACC Network on Wednesday, November 7th at 7 p.m.

Mike Noonan once again appears to have his club ready for the postseason as this will be Clemson’s tenth time in Noonan’s 13 seasons as coach that the Tigers will reach the ACC semifinals.

The competition is stiff, as the other three semifinalist teams – Syracuse, Wake Forest and Virginia have – have all beaten the Tigers this season.