No. 9 Tigers upset in home opener by UCF |
By Brooks Thomason
CLEMSON – The No. 9-ranked Clemson Men’s soccer team suffered a loss in its first regular season match Thursday, falling 2-1 to visitors UCF. The Tigers (0-1-0) found their footing early into the match at Riggs Field. In the first 30 seconds of play, Mohamed Seye took a deflected pass and got around UCF keeper Juanvi Muñoz, who proceeded to take down Seye for a penalty kick. Ousmane Sylla then slotted it home in the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 Clemson. Seven minutes later, Brandon Parrish laced a curler that missed the top right corner by a small margin. After, UCF (1-0-0) started to take control, taking their five shots in the first half and putting two on target. In the 43rd minute, UCF freshman Saku Heiskanen scored a left-footed curler out of the reach of Clemson keeper Joseph Andema. The first half ended with 18 fouls, 13 totaling toward the Tigers, who played a physical press. The Knights outshot the Tigers five to four. The second half started quickly, with Mohamed Seye just missing a layoff pass to score early one minute in and mishitting a Parrish cross six minutes in. An impressive ball by Seye left Parrish with a one-on-one with the keeper, but his two shots were both saved. Clemson’s pressure was getting to UCF, but there was no end product. In the 64th minute, a mishandled pass led to AJ Seals getting by Adam Lundegard, who brought down a goal-scoring chance. The referee gave Lundegard a red card, changing the momentum in favor of the Knights. A free kick from 20 yards out led to a missed shot aimed for the top left corner by Anderson Rosa. The game started to get chippy between the players, leading to a packed home crowd getting involved. Gael Gilbert saved a UCF goal opportunity by making a tackle inside the box to stop the Knights, and the crowd roared in elation to keep the game tied. Clemson being down to ten men did not help their cause to lead to victory. In the 69th minute, keeper Andema came out and was desolate. A cross and header by Emmanuel Bam into an empty net gave UCF a 2-1 lead over Clemson. UCF never looked back; they held onto their 2-1 lead. The physical game led to 39 fouls, with 28 tabbed to Clemson. The Knights outshot the Tigers ten to seven and five to three on shots on goal. Clemson head coach Mike Noonan commented on the number of fouls by Clemson, saying: “I think the foul count was disproportionate to how the game was.” Clemson looks to bounce back Monday, August 28, against UNC Wilmington, while UCF looks to stay unbeaten in their home opener against Stetson on Sunday, August 27.
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