Clemson Faces Stanford in College Cup Final Sunday

Match Information:

What: 2015 NCAA Men’s College Cup Championship MatchWho: No. 2 National Seed Clemson Tigers (17-2-4) vs. No. 8 National Seed Stanford Cardinal (17-2-3)When: Sunday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT)Where: Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kan.RPI: Clemson – No. 2; Stanford – No. 8NSCAA Rankings: Clemson – No. 3; Stanford – No. 7Follow: @ClemsonMSoccer on Twitter and InstagramTV: ESPNULive Video: WatchESPN (http://es.pn/1RC3owm)Live Stats: http://www.cstv.com/gametracker/launch/gt_msoccer.html?event=1475122&school=cs&sport=msoccer&camefrom=&startschool=& Tickets: http://www.ncaa.com/tickets/soccer-men/d1

Clemson’s Road to the College Cup Final:

• Semifinal: Clemson 0, Syracuse 0, (Clemson advanced in PKs, 4-1) (Dec. 11, Kansas City, Kan.) – Andrew Tarbell posted a season-best eight saves (which also tied his career-best in terms of single-match saves) and, along with the stingy defense led by Kyle Fisher, kept the Orange off the board despite their advantage in shots, 15-5, and corner kicks, 10-6. Tarbell also made one save in the penalty kick round, while Iman Mafi, Michael Melvin, Thales Moreno and T.J. Casner stepped up and made four-straight PKs to lift the Tigers over Syracuse, 4-1.
• Elite Eight: Clemson 1, Maryland 1 (Clemson advanced in PKs, 3-1) (Dec. 4, Clemson, S.C.) – Thales Moreno scored a goal in regulation, and netted the winning penalty kick to send the Tigers to the College Cup for the first time in 10 years. Iman Mafi and T.J. Casner also scored in the shootout for the Tigers, while Andrew Tarbell came up with two crucial saves in the shootout, in addition to five saves in 110 minutes of play.
• Round of 16: Clemson 3, UC Santa Barbara 2 (Nov. 29, Clemson, S.C.) – Junior defender Aaron Jones, sophomore forward Diego Campos and redshirt senior forward Kyle Murphy each scored for the Tigers in the win, while Thales Moreno assisted on all three Clemson goals. Murphy’s goal was the game-winner, in the 79^th minute.
• Round of 32: Clemson 5, Elon 2 (Nov. 22, Clemson, S.C.) – T.J. Casner scored twice and added an assist, and Thales Moreno, Saul Chinchilla and Iman Mafi scored once apiece in the Clemson victory. Mafi also assisted on three goals, while Michael Melvin tallied two assists in the contest.

Clemson’s NCAA Tournament Notes:

• The Tigers are playing the National Championship match for the fourth time in program history. Two of the three previous times, 1984 and 1987, Clemson won the national title. In 1979, the Tigers fell to SIU-Edwardsville 3-2.
• In 1984, Clemson defeated Indiana 2-1 in the national title match on Dec. 16 in Seattle, Wash.
• Clemson won the 1987 national title on its home pitch, Historic Riggs Field, defeated San Diego State, 2-0, on Dec. 6.
• This season is the eighth time in program history that Clemson has reached the NCAA College Cup, and the first time in 10 years. Previous College Cup seasons for the Tigers were 1973, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1987 and 2005.
• The program has a 50-25-4 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, and, with its 50 wins in tournament play, is sixth in NCAA Tournament history in that category.
• This is Clemson’s 29th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which puts the program in ninth-place nationally in terms of all-time NCAA Tournament appearances.

Clemson vs. Stanford Series Notes:

• Clemson and Stanford have met just one time in men’s soccer, in the NCAA Elite Eight in 2002. In that meeting, the Cardinal defeated the Tigers 2-0 in Stanford, Calif. on Dec. 7.