Tigers Draw No. 12 South Carolina in Home Opener, 0-0

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson University women’s soccer team (1-1-2) fought relentlessly for 90 minutes to hold No.12 South Carolina to a 0-0 draw Thursday night.

With the women’s draw, Clemson Athletics now has a 1-0-1 advantage over South Carolina in the 2025-26 Palmetto Series, presented by the South Carolina Education Lottery, including the men’s soccer team’s 4-1 victory against the Gamecocks this past Tuesday.

“This was a good soccer game tonight,” Head Coach Eddie Radwanski said. “It was two good teams who got better from the game. We are a young team, and we took a good step today.”

This was the third top 20 matchup (No. 18 Ohio State, No. 15 Virginia Tech and No. 12 South Carolina) that the Tigers have played in out of their four matches this season. Radwanski addressed this by saying, “We challenged ourselves. We opened the season on the road, which wasn’t an easy travel and that is to test a younger group. We then come back and play a big rival like South Carolina. Credit to our kids who took in information during training, went out to execute and showed that we were better than the previous game.”

The Starting XI

• Midfielder Neely Kerr (Fourth career start)
• Midfielder Emily Brough (32^nd career start)
• Defender Mackenzie Duff (43^rd career start)
• Midfielder Renee Lyles (55^th career start)
• Forward Tatum Short (33^rd career start)
• Defender Jolie Jenkins (2^nd career start)
• Forward Maria Manousos (24^th career start)
• Forward Juju Harris (Fourth career start)
• Defender Reese Klein (Third career start)
• Goalkeeper Addy Holgorsen (10^th career start)

How it Happened

In a highly contested match, both the Tiger and Gamecock defenses controlled all 90 minutes. Each team allowed only two shots on goal, one per half, with Lyles and Jenkins taking the two shots on goal for Clemson. The Tigers led the Gamecocks 5-4 in total shots in each half, outshooting the Gamecocks 10-8 for the match. Lyles and Harris tied for the most shots taken by Clemson with three.

“Obviously you want to score and take that victory but how we played, how we defended, what we were like in and out of possession, there was a lot of positives.” Radwanski stated.

Kerr, Brough, Duff, Lyles and Holgorsen (earned her fifth career shutout) all played a full 90 minutes.

Up Next

Clemson is back home against App State this Sunday, August 31 at Historic Riggs Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Fans can stream the match on ACCNX and follow live stats at ClemsonTigers.com.

For complete coverage of the Clemson women’s soccer program, follow @ClemsonWSoccer on X, Instagram and Facebook.