Clemson, S.C. – The No. 9 Clemson women’s soccer team fought hard until the end but ultimately fell in a 2-1 heartbreaker to the No. 6 Florida State Seminoles. The Tigers move to 7-1-1 on the season after facing off with their second ranked opponent of the year.
“Florida State was really good and they punished us — that’s just what a defending National Championship winning team will do,” Head Coach Eddie Radwanski said. “We had moments of quality, we made it a close game, but the reality is that Florida State was the better team today and we just have to acknowledge that.”
The Seminoles carried the early momentum with goals coming in the 11th and 17th minute courtesy of Yujie Zhao and Deyna Castellanos. Play remained quiet for the remainder of the first half with both teams splitting possession before Clemson freshman Maliah Morris found the top right corner of the net after a deflected corner kick inside the box. The 44th minute goal for Morris marks her third goal of her freshman campaign, moving her to eight points through nine games.
“One game at a time. We have to focus on our recovery now to get ready to play on Sunday against Virginia Tech and that’s the only thing that is on our radar,” Radwanski added.
The Tigers will welcome No. 16 Virginia Tech to Historic Riggs Field on Sept. 29 for a 1 p.m. game. The matchup against the Hokies will be Clemson’s last match at home until Oct. 19, as they hit the road for the next three games for their toughest portion of the season with North Carolina, Louisville and Duke on the ballot.
