Clemson Defeats Davidson 3-0 in Exhibition Action

Aug. 17, 2011

CLEMSON, SC – Freshman Iain Smith scored two goals while fellow classmate Amadou Dia added two assists in leading Clemson to a 3-0 win over Davidson in a men’s soccer exhibition match at Clemson, SC Wednesday night.

Also freshman and Clemson, SC native Ara Amirkhanian scored the Tigers’ third goal of the evening.

“It was exciting tonight,” said Smith, who is a Suwanee, GA native. “Of course being the first time, we were nervous but things feel into place. I thought we came together, but we have got to continue to work hard.”

Smith scored early at the 2:11 mark. Dia crossed the ball to Smith who one stepped the ball and scored from 12 yards out to give the Tigers a 1-0 advantage.

Smith struck again early in the second half at the 54:46 point in the match. He was double-assisted on the play by Ben Myers and Dia.

The Tigers concluded the scoring under five minutes later as Amirkhanian scored with an assist by Jack Metcalf.

Clemson outshot the Wildcats by a 14-8 total.

“It was awesome playing someone else besides your teammates,” said Clemson Head Coach Mike Noonan. The pace is different, the speed is different, so it is good playing another team. We are approaching a good fitness level, but we need to improve some in that area.

“We need to play more aggressive and win more 50-50 balls. Our passing was pretty good, I am just glad that we are getting the forwards more chances to score goals. At one time we had seven freshmen out there. Iain is a goal-scorer and he will get sharper. He has more to learn, and tonight will help his confidence,” said Noonan.

“I think we are on track at this point in the preseason, but we are going to have some growing pains. There is no class-structure on this team,” said Noonan. I think we are coming together as a team and the leadership is there as well.”

Clemson will play host to Winthrop on Sunday, August 21, at 7:00 p.m. in the second and final exhibition match. The Tigers will open the 2011 season at Alabama-Birmingham on August 27.

Clemson 3, Davidson 0

Clemson – Iain Smith (Amadou Dia) 2:11 Clemson – Iain Smith (Ben Myers, Amadou Dia) 54:46 Clemson – Ara Amirkhanian (Jack Metcalf) 59:00

Shots: Clemson 14, Davidson 8 Corner Kicks: Clemson 3, Davidson 7 Saves: Cody Mizell (CU) 0, Erik Mozzo (CU) 2 Chip Sanders (D) 4, Ben Gold (D) 0 Attendance: 428