Tigers knock off New Hampshire on road to earn NCAA Tourney Elite 8 hosting bid |
No. 9 national seed Clemson men's soccer will play for a second College Cup appearance in three seasons after knocking off No. 8 national seed New Hampshire (13-3-4) on the road, 1-0, on Sunday.
The Tigers (12-3-5) are set to host Stanford at Riggs Field in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 6 p.m. after the Cardinal upset No. 1 Marshall on Sunday. Clemson didn't register a shot until 30 minutes into the game but started to build momentum from there, and star playmaker Ousmane Sylla put the pressure on by taking a dribble out of the air and knocking it into the back of the net in the 39th minute. It was his 12th goal this season and a second of his NCAA Tournament. New Hampshire trailed at the half despite holding a 7-3 shots advantage. Clemson's defense held the line in the second half despite the desperate home side's efforts, who finished with 13 shots but just three on goal, rendering three saves to the Tigers' Joseph Andema. Clemson handed UNH, which has won five conference championships in a row, only its fifth loss all-time at Wildcat Stadium, dropping its record to 61-5-9 there. Clemson, which won the 2021 National Championship under coach Mike Noonan, is unbeaten in its last 11 games, which also included an ACC Championship earlier this month. BOOM! Sylla on 🔥 tonight in NH pic.twitter.com/aKbmyIr3Z8 First Half Frames 🫶🤩 pic.twitter.com/B6iFf0qmRw TIGERS ARE MOVING ON !! pic.twitter.com/Fnet0JRIwa CLEMSON TOUGH 😤 pic.twitter.com/7XKgX8NoDW
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