Clemson Wraps Up Regular Season Against NC State

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson men’s soccer team plays its final regular season match of 2018 on Saturday, when the NC State Wolfpack pays a visit to Historic Riggs Field for a senior day matchup. 

NC State Match Information

Who: Clemson Tigers (6-8-1; 1-6-0 ACC) vs. NC State Wolfpack (8-4-3, 2-3-2 ACC)
When: Saturday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m.
Where: Historic Riggs Field // Clemson, S.C.
Watch: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3436489/nc-state-vs-clemson-m-soccer
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=225672

Clemson Notes:

• Clemson most recently saw action on Tuesday night in a 3-2 victory over No. 20 Syracuse at Historic Riggs Field. Tanner Dieterich netted a penalty kick for his fourth goal of the year, and Robbie Robinson and Adrian Nuñez each contributed scores as well as the Tigers halted the Orange’s six-match unbeaten streak.
• Nuñez leads the team with six goals on the year, and that combined with one assist give him 13 points on the year. However, the Tigers have had a variety of players contributing to scoring this season, with 16 players tallying at least one point so far.
• Aside from Nuñez, Dieterich and Robinson, seven Tigers have all found the back of the net at least once this season: Quinn McNeill (2), Grayson Barber (1), Patrick Bunk-Andersen (1), Andrew Burnikel (1), Malick Mbaye (1), John Murphy Jr. (1) and Kimarni Smith (1).
• Charlie Asensio, Barber, Burnikel, Nate Hall, Johnny Heckman, Justin Malou, Chris Matlashewski, Smith and Cale Thorne have all added at least one assist.
• Keeper Jonny Sutherland has seen the majority of action in goal for the Tigers, totaling 21 saves against 16 goals allowed in 887 minutes over 10 matches. However, George Marks has also seen time, playing all 110 minutes of the Tigers’ double-overtime match against UMass as his collegiate debut in addition to every minute of Clemson’s matches against College of Charleston, Pitt, Louisville and Syracuse. Through those five matches, Marks has allowed six goals against 10 saves. Nolan Lennon played the final 11 minutes of the Tigers’ match against Furman and allowed one goal.
• Saturday’s match serves as senior day for the Tigers, who will honor Sutherland, Burnikel, Bunk-Andersen, Heckman and manager Jack Christian in a pregame ceremony.
• The Tigers are led by team captains Bunk-Andersen and Dieterich.

NC State Notes:

• The then-ranked No. 21 Wolfpack most recently saw action in a 1-1 draw against then-ranked No. 24 Syracuse. The Orange took an early led and held it until the final minute of regulation, when NC State sophomore midfielder Brad Sweeney drilled a free kick from 19 yards out to the back of the net to force overtime.
• After the tie, NC State dropped out of the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll but was still receiving votes this week.
• Junior midfielder Gabriel Machado is the Wolfpack’s leading scorer, netting four goals while sophomore forward David Loera has assisted on a team-high six scores this year, an assist number that is tied for fourth-best in the ACC.
• Aside from Sweeney and Machado, eight other NC State players have found the back of the net this season.
• Sophomore keeper Leon Krapf has played all 1,400-plus minutes of NC State’s 15 matches in goal, allowing 15 goals against 46 saves, and that latter mark that is second-highest in the ACC. He has posted seven clean sheets in those 15 matches, which only ranks behind the eight shutouts that Virginia’s Colin Shutler and North Carolina’s James Pyle have each completed in the conference standings.

Series Notes:

• Clemson and NC State’s 2017 meeting ended in a 1-0 Wolfpack win at Dail Soccer Stadium after an early goal from then-freshman forward Manny Perez.
• Prior to last year’s loss, Clemson had won eight consecutive matches over NC State, a streak dating from 2009 to 2016. Four of those wins were shutouts, including a 2-0 Tiger victory the last time the two teams met at Historic Riggs Field.
• Dating back to 1967, Clemson leads the overall series 37-15-7.

For complete coverage of the Clemson men’s soccer team, follow @ClemsonMSoccer on Twitter and Instagram, and @ClemsonMensSoccer on Facebook.