Tigers extend dominance over Gamecocks to set their program record in series |
Clemson earned their first win of the season against the South Carolina Gamecocks in a 2-0 victory at a packed Historic Riggs Field on Friday night.
The win was a 10th in a row over South Carolina, which set a program record for Clemson in the series, and a 12th in the last 14 meetings against the Gamecocks overall. Clemson (1-1-1) and South Carolina (0-2-1) started the match with fire in their gut, ready to be physical against each other. Words were exchanged, pushing, nothing but old-fashioned hate between the two rivals. Into the action, Clemson’s Nathan Richmond was the player of the first half. Richmond contributed early. In the sixth minute, Richmond made a touch in the box, which struck a Gamecock defender’s hand. Clemson made an enormous appeal for handball, but the referee struck it down. In the seventh minute, Richmond made a crucial stepover and laced a shot with his left foot but straight at keeper Ben Alexander. The game’s physicality led to 14 fouls in the first half. Jonah Bigger had to be talked to by the referee after throwing the ball in frustration. Two yellow cards were handed out in the period, one to South Carolina’s Ethan Dekel Daks for frustration and one to Clemson’s Gael Gibert for tripping. Richmond’s impact continued to shine under the lights. In the 20th minute, Richmond sliced a shot to the left post, which missed just wide, and in the 23rd minute, Richmond played a ball to Joran Gerbet at the top of the box. Gerbet hit a low-driven shot into the bottom left corner and opened the scoring for the Tigers and his Clemson career, making it 1-0. Back and forth, the pendulum swung, but the first half ended close in the shot department. But Clemson’s six corners to the Gamecocks’ one helped showcase the Tigers’ pressure on their rivals. The second half was very sluggish and possession-based. The first 10 minutes were all in the midfield. Between fouls, tackles, and keeping possession, nothing monumental happened. However, controversy struck in the 60th minute. Arthur Duquenne found himself in the box with a defender draped on his shoulder. Both the defender and Duquenne went down. Duquenne looked for a penalty, but none was given. A minute later, Richmond got into the box, and a tackle by Jordan Illian left Richmond down on the ground. And he screamed at the ref for a penalty, but the referee’s decision remained the same. In the 59th minute, an impressive ball by Brandon Parrish left Pape Mar Boye with an open net six yards out at the back post, but he mishandled and fired it over the bar. South Carolina’s only shot on goal was by Rocky Perez in the 65th minute, which was an easy and comfortable save by Joseph Andema. It was a low shot, but nowhere near enough pace behind it to make the sophomore keeper uncomfortable. With eight minutes left, a Clemson corner sent to the back post was headed down and rolled to Tulsa transfer Alex Meinhard, who finished it in the net to record his first for the Tigers and make it 2-0 Clemson. “The biggest key is preparation…knowing the preparation is going to work out and applying what we did in practice,” Meinhard said. Clemson’s next match is Presbyterian at home on Tuesday (7 p.m.). VAMOS! 😤 pic.twitter.com/9kLC8RoJFM First goal as a Tiger for Alex‼️ 🐅 pic.twitter.com/nseSkDUDvM First goal as a Tiger for Alex‼️ 🐅 pic.twitter.com/nseSkDUDvM Ten straight in the state derby match. Atta boy, lads! #ClemsonUnited What a match!
🐅 ⚽️ https://t.co/Eln1U5kePZ
That's nine straight Palmetto Series points and 10 straight wins over South Carolina for @ClemsonMSoccer 👏 pic.twitter.com/6Gj2nqAKgD
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