BOX SCORE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Clemson men’s soccer team battled its way to double overtime against the No. 10 Louisville Cardinals at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium on Saturday evening, but it was the Cardinals who came away with a 1-0 win. With the result, Clemson fell to 5-8-1 overall and 0-6-0 in the ACC, while Louisville improved to 8-3-3 overall and 4-1-2 in conference play.
The Tigers outshot the Cardinals 4-1 and 2-0 in shots on goal in the first half and did not let Louisville get that shot off until the final seconds of the half, when Kino Ryosuke launched one that went high. Quinn McNeill and Sindri Björnsson took Clemson’s two shots on goal, but Louisville keeper Jake Gelnovatch was there to save both of them, leaving the teams knotted in a scoreless tie at the break.
Louisville evened the shots margin to 4-4 in the second half, with the Cardinals’ best chance to score coming in the 81st minute on a shot laced by Cherif Dieye that was saved by Clemson keeper George Marks. With the scoreless tie still intact at the end of regulation, the teams headed to overtime.
After a quiet beginning to the first overtime period, Marks saved another Dieye shot in the 99th minute to force a second overtime. But that second overtime did not last long, as Louisville’s Elijah Amo netted the golden goal just 20 seconds in to give the Cardinals the win.
“I was incredibly proud of the way the team performed tonight,” said head coach Mike Noonan. “The team’s attitude, focus and effort was at a season’s best. The game can be unbelievably cruel at times, and tonight was one of those nights. However, if tonight’s performance is an indication of our team’s intention going forward, the future is bright, and we are looking forward to Tuesday night’s home match against Syracuse.”
Clemson returns to Historic Riggs Field for its final two matches of the 2018 regular season, with the first being a hurricane-postponed matchup with Syracuse on Tuesday. Kickoff against the Orange is set for 7 p.m.
