Clemson Men’s Soccer: Tigers fall in ACC Championship Game

The eighth-seeded Clemson Men’s Soccer team fell to Syracuse by a score of 2-0 on Sunday in the finals of the 2022 ACC Soccer Tournament in Cary, North Carolina.

The Tigers made an unlikely and unprecedented run in the tournament, becoming the first 8th seed to make the final, by beating previously undefeated Duke and Wake Forest, who had crushed the Tigers earlier in the season 6-1 at Riggs Field on the Clemson campus.

The Orange scored 21 minutes into the match and got another goal seven minutes before the half to take a 2-0 lead after the first 45 minutes.

The Tigers put some pressure on Syracuse early in the second half, but couldn’t break through and score in their third appearance in the ACC finals in four seasons.

The 13-6-1 Tigers now await the NCAA Tournament selection process, which will be streamed on NCAA.com at 1 p.m. on Monday, November 14th.

The Tigers are looking for their 35 invitation to the tournament and 4th in a row.

Syracuse also beat Clemson 2-1 on September 16th at Riggs Field, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season and beginning a rough patch for the previously top-ranked Tiger team.

The Tigers had their chances and ended the match with 12 shots on goal, 8 of which came in the second half, while the Orange finished with 15 shots on goal, 6 in the second half.

Clemson had one more corner kick than the Orange, 8-7, but couldn’t muster a goal in those situations.

Fatigue may have played a role as Clemson Men’s Soccer was playing their 3rd match in 8 days

For one of the few times I can remember on the season, the opponent had more fouls than the aggressive Tigers, with Syracuse racking up 19 fouls to the Tigers 11.

Though Mike Noonan and his squad would never use it as an excuse, fatigue could have been a factor as the Tigers were playing their third match in 8 days, which is what happens when you’re the 8 seed.