Post Match Notes — No. 4 Clemson v. No. 5 Virginia Tech

Post Match Notes (PDF)

Participation

• Clemson saw 17 players take the field.
• Four players earned a full 90 minutes in the match.
  • George Marks, Justin Malou, Charlie Asensio and Philip Mayaka.
• Four players have started in each of the Tigers’ first nine matches this season.
  • Oskar Agren, Justin Malou, Grayson Barber and Charlie Asensio.
• Jake Barron made his third career appearance by entering in the 38th minute of the match and playing the remainder of the first half.
• Oskar Agren continues to lead the team in minutes (807).

milestone moments

• Kimarni Smith scored the second hat-trick of his career. 
  • All three goals were scored in the first half. The last first-half hat-trick was recorded by Robbie Robinson on 9/9/19. 
  • Smith’s first hat-trick was earned on 9/9/19 against USC Upstate.  
• Smith’s hat-trick was only the second hat-trick in ACC Tournament history. 
  • The first occurrence happened in 1997 during the first round of the tournament and was earned by Ihor Dotsenko of Wake Forest. 
• Smith provided his third assist of the season on Brighton’s goal. 
  • This was Smith’s 11th career assist. 
• Smith’s seven points are the most ever in an ACC Tournament match. 
  • This was a single-match career-best for Smith. 
  • The previous record was six points set in 1997 by Ihor Dotsenko of Wake Forest.  
• Grayson Barber recorded the second multi-assist match of his Clemson career. 
  • Provided the lone assist on Smith’s second goal and the second assist on Brighton’s goal. 
  • His first multi-assist match was on Nov. 1, 2019, against NC State. 
• Mohamed Seye recorded his 20th career point by providing the assist on Smith’s first goal. 
• James Brighton recorded his 20th career point by scoring the Tigers’ final goal of the season. 
  • This was Brighton’s ninth career goal. 

FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME

• Clemson scored four goals in a match for the first time since Oct. 11, 2019, when Clemson won 4-0 over Louisville at home. 
• This was the first match since Sept. 24, 2019, that Clemson attempted less than 10 shots in a match. 
• The last time Clemson was out-shot by their opponent was Oct. 19, 2019, at Syracuse. 
  • Virginia Tech out-shot Clemson on Sunday, 18-8.

SERIES HISTORY

• Clemson earned its eighth career victory against Virginia Tech on Sunday. 
• Clemson improved to 2-0 against the Hokies while playing at a neutral site. 
• The Tigers are unbeaten against the Hokies in the series’ last nine matches. 
• Clemson’s four goals against Virginia Tech are the most in a single match by the Tigers. 
• Clemson has won the last six matches when scoring two or more goals. 
• Clemson improved to 3-0-1 when playing Virginia Tech in November.

Noonan milestones

• Noonan captured his 340th victory as a head coach. Noonan’s career spans 32 seasons. Noonan’s overall record is 340-182-72. 
• Noonan is now 72-5-4 at Clemson when his team scores first. 
• Noonan is now 49-0-2 at Clemson when his team scores three or more goals in a match.

CLEMSON AGAINST TOP-5 OPPONENTS

• This is the first season that Clemson has defeated two top-five opponents in the same season since 2006. 
  • Clemson has defeated top-ranked Wake Forest and fifth-ranked Virginia Tech in 2020. 
• Clemson is 2-1-1 against top-five opponents in 2020.

FOLLOWING LAST NIGHT’S MATCH

• Clemson is now 21-26-10 all-time in the ACC Tournament. 
• Clemson is now 11-13-6 in the ACC Quarterfinals. 
• Clemson is now 5-4-1 in ACC Tournament matches held in Durham, N.C.