Clemson To Meet Indiana For Trip To The Final Four

Dec. 6, 2001

Clemson, SC – The 2001 ACC Champion Clemson men’s soccer team will travel to Bloomington, IN to face Indiana in the NCAA quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at 2:00PM. The Tigers enter Sunday’s match as the No. 5 seed and with a 19-4 overall record. The Hoosiers are 16-3-1 overall and are the tournament’s No. 4 seed.

Clemson has won seven straight and 18 of their last 20 matches. Over the last 20 matches, the Tigers have outscored their opponents by a 55-12 margin. The Tigers are led in scoring by Ian Fuller with 11 goals and eight assists for 30 points. Dimelon Westfield has nine goals and five assists for 23 points.

After defeating Kentucky 1-0 in the first round of this year’s tournament, Clemson made a dramatic comeback and defeated Alabama-Birmingham 3-2 in double overtime on Sunday in the Round of 16. Down 2-0, the Tigers scored two goals in the final 10:06 to force overtime. Oguchi Onyewu scored the game winner for the Tigers at the 106:55 mark.

Clemson is making their 22nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The 22 appearances are tied for sixth best in NCAA history. Clemson boasts a 40-20 overall record in the NCAA Tournament and ranks fourth nationally in terms of tournament wins. Over the last five seasons, Clemson has made four trips to the Round of 16 and three trips to the Final Eight. Last season, the Tigers lost to eventual national champion Connecticut 2-1 in overtime in the Round of 16.

This will be the ninth meeting with Indiana on the soccer field. The overall series is tied 4-4. In games played in Bloomington, IN, the series is tied 2-2. In NCAA Tournament play, the Tigers lead the series 2-1. Clemson defeated Indiana in the 1984 National Championship game, 2-1. In 1987, Clemson defeated Indiana 2-1 in the NCAA’s Round of 16.

In 1998, Indiana defeated Clemson in the NCAA’s Final Eight, 2-1 in Clemson. The two schools have each won two times in the four meetings when both teams were ranked in the top 10 according to the NSCAA poll.

Head Coach Trevor Adair has a 101-38-10 record in seven years at Clemson and a 135-62-15 mark in 11 years as a head coach. Clemson’s 19 wins this season are the second highest during Adair’s tenure at Clemson. The 1998 team won the school’s first ACC Tournament Championship and finished the season with a 22-2 mark overall.

Indiana is led in scoring by Pat Noonan with 14 goals and 10 assists for 38 points. Mike Ambersley has five goals and four assists for 14 points. The Hoosiers own a 45-3 record at home in the NCAA Tournament with the last loss coming against Butler in the regional semifinals in 1995. Indiana has not given up a goal in this year’s tournament and have only allowed six goals all season.