Post Match Notes — No. 2 Clemson v. No. 1 Pittsburgh

Post Match Notes (PDF)

Participation

• Clemson had 16 players take the field.
• Six players earned 90 minutes in the match.
  • George Marks, Oskar Agren, Justin Malou, John Martin, Charlie Asensio and Philip Mayaka.
• Three players have started in each of the Tigers’ matches this season.
  • Justin Malou, Grayson Barber and Charlie Asensio.
• Charlie Asensio leads the team in minutes played (1,009) this season.
• George Marks now ranks atop the nation for goalkeeper minutes played this season (951).

milestone moments

• Justin Malou made his 50th career start for Clemson by starting the match at center back.
  • This was the 60th appearance of Malou’s career.
• Grayson Barber earned his 40th career start for Clemson by starting at forward.
• Barber equaled the ACC Tournament record for most assists in a single tournament (4) with his assist on James Brighton’s game-winning goal.
  • Barber improved on his career total of ACC Tournament assists, contributing the fifth of his career.
• John Martin made his 20th appearance for Clemson by starting the match at right back.
• Charlie Asensio made his 50th appearance for Clemson by starting the match at left back.
• Clemson’s first goal of the match, off the foot of Mohamed Seye, was the 2,800th goal of Clemson men’s soccer history.
  • This was Seye’s third goal of the season. 
• James Brighton scored his second game-winning goal of the 2020 season, placing him in a tie for the team’s lead.
  • Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador has also notched two game-winning goals this season. 
• George Marks recorded four saves in a match for the third time this season.  
• James Brighton scored his 10th career goal by netting the game-winning score.
  • Brighton has scored in the last two ACC Championship matches. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Clemson improved to 5-1 against Pittsburgh with Sunday’s 2-1 victory.
• This was the first neutral-site match in series history.
• Clemson is 5-0 against Pitt in matches that end during regulation. 
• Sunday’s match was just the second time the two sides have met in the ACC Tournament.
• Clemson has won both meetings in the ACC Tournament.
  • Seye has scored the first goal in each of the two matches. 

2020 ACC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS

• Clemson captured its 15th ACC Championship on Sunday.
• Clemson captured its fourth ACC Tournament title.
  • Clemson’s four titles are the second-most by a current member school in the ACC. 
• This was the program’s fourth ACC Tournament championship since the tournament started in 1987.
  • Titles won in 1998, 2001, 2014 and 2020.
• Clemson now has an overall record of 23-26-10 in the ACC Tournament.
• Clemson is 4-5 in the tournament’s finals. 

CLEMSON AGAINST NO. 1

• For the first time in program history, Clemson has defeated the nation’s top-ranked team multiple times in a season (2-0).
  • Oct. 13, 2020 — Clemson defeats No. 1 Wake Forest at Historic Riggs Field, 2-1.
  • Nov. 22, 2020 — No. 2 Clemson defeats No. 1 Pittsburgh at WakeMed Soccer Park, 2-1.
• 2020 was just the seventh season in program history that Clemson has played the nation’s top-ranked team on multiple occasions. 
• Clemson has defeated the nation’s top-ranked team 10 times in program history. 
  • In eight of the ten matches, Clemson has won by a 2-1 scoreline. 
• Clemson is 3-0 against the nation’s top-ranked team when entering as the nation’s second-ranked team.
  • Oct. 23, 1977 — No. 2 Clemson defeats No. 1 St. Louis in St. Louis, Mo., 3-1, to give the program its first win over a No. 1 team.
  • Sept. 19, 1982 — No. 2 Clemson defeats No. 1 SIU-Edwardsville in Edwardsville, Ill., 2-1.
  • Nov. 22, 2020 — No. 2 Clemson defeats No. 1 Pittsburgh at WakeMed Soccer Park, 2-1.

Noonan milestones

• Noonan captured his 342nd victory as a head coach, a career that spans 32 seasons. Noonan’s overall record is 342-182-72.
  • Noonan now ranks 11th amongst active D-I head coaches for most career wins.
  • Noonan is in a tie for 39th in NCAA D-I history for most career wins.
• Noonan is 10-8-6 in the ACC Tournament during his time at Clemson. 
• Noonan is now 49-8-3 at Clemson when his team scores two goals in a match.
• Noonan is now 104-8-7 at Clemson when his team scores first.
• Noonan is 74-5-4 at Clemson when leading at halftime. 

PROGRAM MILESTONES

• Clemson has finished the season with a record of 8-2-1 and a win-percentage of .772.
  • This is the fourth time in Mike Noonan’s tenure at Clemson that the Tigers have finished a season above .700.
• Clemson has a program record of 694-277-93
• Clemson scored its 2,800th goal in program history with its first goal of the match. 
• Clemson improved to 512-139-51 all-time in non-conference matches.
• Clemson earned its 34th neutral site victory in Sunday’s match.