Coral Gables, Fla. – After a scoreless first half of action, the 15th-ranked Clemson women’s soccer team tirelessly battled despite falling 2-3 to Miami in double overtime. The Tigers move to 9-5-1 (3-5 ACC) with two regular season games remaining.
“The message we had tonight is that we are really proud of our girls,” Head Coach Eddie Radwanski said. “We had a lot of adversity that we had to deal with, but we have to get ourselves reorganized and focused for our game against Pitt as we try and get three ACC points.”
Freshman Caroline Conti led the early offensive charge for the Tigers, registering four shots with three shots on goal within the first half. She would replicate her play in the second half and overtime, leading all field players for shots throughout her 110 minutes while simultaneously pressuring the Miami defense. Conti went on to be one of five Clemson field players to participate in all 110 minutes of action.
It would take until the 75th minute before Mackenzie Smith would break the silence on the pitch, netting a beautifully placed corner kick by Renee Guion to the lower left corner of the net. Smith’s strike made it her second goal of the season and brought Guion’s assist total to 11 through 15 games. Guion sits two assists shy of tying the single season assist record at Clemson that was set by Sheri Bueter in 1994. However, Miami quickly found the equalizer on a similar play inside the box to bring the game to a 1-1 scoreline.
In the 86th minute the Canes committed a foul 20-yards out that gave Clemson a perfect opportunity late in the game. Dani Antieau fed a ball just over the defense that snuck its way inside the far-side post to regain the Tigers’ lead. Less than two minutes later, Clemson would be charged for a foul inside the box, presenting the Canes with a penalty kick chance. Despite Sandy MacIver getting a piece of it, Miami would tie the game to send the match to overtime.
The Tigers and Canes went back and forth in the first overtime period but the game wouldn’t be clinched until the final minute when Miami capitalized on a corner kick with 41 seconds remaining.
With 18 corner kicks throughout the evening, Clemson surpassed 100 total corners on the year. In addition to their offensive zone presence, the Tigers managed to unleash 24 shots against the Hurricanes, making it their fifth game of the year over the 20-shot mark.
Clemson’s next bout of competition comes in the form of a 1 p.m. Senior Day matchup against Pitt on October 27. The Tigers will honor their six seniors prior to kick-off and will be inducting Deliah Arrington into the Clemson Ring of Honor at halftime. Arrington will be the first Clemson soccer player to receive a spot within the Ring of Honor.
