BOX SCORE
COLUMBIA, S.C. – For the second-straight match, the Clemson women’s soccer team created some great chances offensively, and played well enough on the road to win, but came away with a 1-0 loss, this time to 10th-ranked South Carolina on Thursday evening in Columbia, S.C. With the loss, the Tigers dropped to 1-2, while the Gamecocks improved to 3-0 with the win.
HOW IT WAS DECIDED
The Gamecocks had the offensive momentum to open the second half, and found the net in the 48th minute, as Lauren Chang’s shot into the lower left was out of the reach of sophomore keeper Maddie Weber.
OF NOTE
· Clemson created a number of good chances on offense in the first half, including three corner kicks in the first eight minutes of play, as well as several opportunities on free kicks, but was unable to capitalize.
· Weber, who started her third career match in goal for the Tigers, came up with two big saves in the first half to keep the Gamecocks off the board. Just over a minute into the match, a South Carolina player had a good look at the goal following a free kick that came in from the left side, but Weber made a nice save to set the tone early in the half.
· Redshirt freshman Haley Schueppert entered the match in the 65th minute of play. It was the first career action for the Highlands Ranch, Colo. native, who sat out last season with an injury.
· After the Gamecocks scored at the 47:13 mark, the Tigers regained their composure and controlled much of the remainder of the match, including leading South Carolina in shots 4-3 in the period.
· In the final six minutes of the match, Clemson put on even more offensive pressure, earning two corner kicks and two free kicks in front of the Gamecock goal. With just 15 seconds remaining, sophomore midfielder Kimber Haley sent a nice pass ahead looking for sophomore forward Mariana Speckmaier in front of the goal, but the pair was unable to convert.
UP NEXT
The Tigers have their first regular season home match of the 2018 campaign on Sunday, Aug. 26 when they host Indiana. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Historic Riggs Field, and admission is free.
HEAD COACH EDDIE RADWANSKI QUOTE
“Our girls played hard and gave a good effort. I thought our quality was not to the level we expect and players were tentative on the ball. We made a simple mistake and South Carolina took advantage of it and punished us, and good teams will do this. That being said, we did some tactical things well which was encouraging for a young team. We need to regroup ourselves and get ready for Sunday’s match vs Indiana.”
