Sixth Ranked Clemson To Open Season In Cal State Fullerton Invitational

Aug. 29, 2001

Clemson, SC – The sixth-ranked Clemson men’s soccer team will travel to Fullerton, California this weekend to take part in the Cal State-Fullerton Invitational Tournament. The Tigers will face Cal State Fullerton on Friday night at 7:00 PM and the University of California on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 PM. This weekend’s action will mark the first two regular season games of the year for the Tigers. In two exhibition games this season, Clemson defeated the College of Charleston 7-1 and the U.S. Under-17 National Team 1-0.

This season, the Tigers return eight starters from a team that earned a number-two seed and advanced to the quarterfinals of last year’s NCAA Tournament. The 2000 team also finished the season ranked in the top-10 of every major poll. Juniors Doug Warren and Fabio Tambosi along with sophomore Oguchi Onyewu each earned First-Team All-ACC honors last season.

Tournament Notes: Series with Cal State Fullerton–Clemson is 1-0 all-time versus Cal State Fullerton with the only meeting between the schools coming last season. In 2000, 11th-ranked Clemson defeated the 20th-ranked Titans 5-1 in the championship game of the Clemson Nike Invitational on October 1. In that match, First-Team All-ACC performer and current Tiger Fabio Tambosi scored two goals and had two assists for the Tigers.

Series with California–Clemson is 0-1-1 all-time against California with the last meeting between the two schools coming in 1996.

Cal State Fullerton–Cal State Fullerton finished last season with a 15-6-1 overall record and a 6-0-1 record in the Big West Conference. They were eliminated by Stanford in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Titans are coached by Al Mistri, who in his 20 years at the school has posted a 229-150-31 overall record.

California–California Finished the 2000 season with a 6-13-1 record and a fourth place finish in the Pac-10. The Bears are coached by Kevin Grimes and 2001 will be his second season at the school.

Clemson–Clemson finished the 2000 season with a 14-4-2 record overall, and a 3-3 mark in the ACC. As the number-two seed, the Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament where they lost to the eventual national champion Connecticut in overtime. Clemson finished last season ranked in the top of every major poll. In 2001, Clemson returns eight starters and 16 lettermen.

Head Coach Trevor Adair–Now entering his seventh year at Clemson, Head Coach Trevor has a 82-34-10 (.690 pct.) record. His overall record in 10 years of coaching is 116-58-15 (.653).

Clemson’s record in season openers–Clemson has a record of 30-3-1 in season opening games since the sport was started at Clemson in 1967. The Tigers last loss in a season opener was in 1995.

Clemson’s leaders in 2000–In 2000, Mark Lisi led the team in scoring with 15 goals and eight assists for 38 points. Current Tiger Fabio Tambosi had 14 goals and five assists for 33 points. Pablo Webster had 13 assists and two goals for 17 points.

Clemson players and team among nationally leaders last season–Last season, Mark Lisi ranked sixth nationally in points per game (2.24) and 9th nationally in goals per game (0.88). Pablo Webster ranked fifth in the nation in assists per game with a 0.65 per game average while current Tiger Ross Goodacre tied for eighth nationally in assists per game with a 0.60 average. As a team, Clemson ranked fifth nationally in scoring offense with a 2.95 goals per game average.

Three Current Clemson Players named First-Team All-ACC last season–Three Clemson soccer players were named All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 2000. Sophomore Fabio Tambosi and Doug Warren each earned first team honors.

Four Current Clemson Players named to the U.S. Under-20 National Team last summer–Doug Warren were all named to the Under-20 National Team that competed in the XIth FIFA World Youth Championships in Argentina in June. Warren is a rising junior at Clemson, while Lewis, Cutler, and Onyewu will be sophomores in 2001.

Clemson in the polls–This season, Clemson is ranked sixth by Soccer America and eighth by the NSCAA. Over the years, Clemson has been ranked in the Soccer America poll 187 times, including 126 top-10 appearances. Every season since 1972 the Tigers have been ranked in the Top 20 at least once.