Clemson Men’s Soccer Defeats UNC, 2-1, In ACC Championship

Nov. 16, 2001

CLEMSON, S.C. — Oguchi Onyewu scored the winning goal midway in the second half as eighth-ranked Clemson defeated sixth-ranked North Carolina 2-1 in the second game of the semifinals in the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Championship at Clemson’s Riggs Field Friday night.

North Carolina is seeded second in the championship and Clemson is seeded third. The Tigers improve their record to 16-4 overall, and North Carolina falls to 16-4 this season. Clemson is ranked eighth by Soccer America, ninth by both the NSCAA and Soccertimes.com polls. North Carolina is ranked sixth by Soccer America, the NSCAA, and Soccertimes.com. Clemson took a 1-0 advantage at the 47:35 point into the game. Ricky Lewis served the ball from the midfield and lofted a pass to Ian Fuller who gathered the ball in the middle of the box. Fuller sent a left-footed, diagonal shot into the goal from the six- yard box from the left side. This was Fuller’s 10th goal of the season.

North Carolina scored at the 53:48 mark when Matt Crawford scored with assists by Nozuma Yamauchi and Ryan Kneipper. This was Crawford’s fourth goal of the year.

The Tigers took the 2-1 lead at 64:07, when Kevin Conaway threw the ball from the left into the box to Oguchi Onyewu. Onyewu headed the ball into the goal for his fifth goal this season.

“This team showed a lot of character all year long,” said Clemson Head Coach Trevor Adair. “I was proud of their performance against a great North Carolina team at home. Our adjustments in the second half led to two good goals by Fuller and Onyewu. We allowed Onyewu to attack more in the second half and this was one of the keys to the game. (On playing Virginia on Sunday) “Virginia is a good team and they are the best team we have seen all year. They are the best athletically and they have the best size and players we have seen this season.”

Clemson will play Virginia in the finals of the ACC Championship Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at the Tigers’ Riggs Field. This will be the fourth time that the two teams have met in the championship match in the 15 years of the tournament.

Scoring SummaryClemson-Ian Fuller (Ricky Lewis) 47:35North Carolina-Matt Crawford (Nozuma Yamauchi and Ryan Kneipper) 53:48Clemson-Oguchi Onyewu (Kevin Conaway) 64:07

Shots: Clemson 8, North Carolina 19 Corner Kicks: Clemson 5, North Carolina 4 Saves: Doug Warren (CU) 8, Michael Ueltschey (NC) 2 Fouls: Clemson 25, North Carolina 21 Attendance: 2812