CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson Tigers (8-5-5, 4-4-2 ACC) took down the Liberty Flames (14-4-4, 6-0-2 CUSA) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday night in Clemson, S.C.
Elle Bissinger kicked the game off with her third career goal early in the first half, which was quickly answered after Liberty responded with a goal of its own, Taylor Leib netted her third career goal to push the Tigers past the Flames with a final score of 2-1.
How it Happened
Bissinger netted the first score of the game in the 18th minute, good for her third career goal off an assist from Neely Kerr. Less than a minute later, Liberty equalized the game on an unassisted goal from the front of Clemson’s box. Both teams continued into halftime tied, with Clemson outshooting Liberty 4-3.
The fight continued back and forth between both teams deep into the second half. In the 81st minute, Clemson forward Leib received a pass from Renee Lyles and Neely Kerr and snuck a shot into the goal for third career score to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. The Flames couldn’t answer in the final minutes, leading to Clemson’s first round victory,
Highlights
Post-match interview with Head Coach Radwanski
Q: What would you say is the biggest, highly, biggest positive to come out of this?
A: “The main objective when you’re in the NCAA Tournament is to find a way to win and advance, and the game sometimes goes differently, because there’s a lot of emotion. I’m proud of us, that we were able to adapt our system and style to turn the page a little bit. But this is the NCAA tournament, and teams are bringing everything. You’re going to get their best, you’re going to get the highest level of energies, you’re going to get the highest level of competitiveness, and you must be ready to match it and so forth.”
Q: How important do you think that experience was for your squad early in the season, now that you’re here in the NCAA?
A: “Oh, it’s critical. We went through that journey, it was rough. I’m incredibly proud of this team for fighting and finding a way back to one get themselves into the NCAA tournament to be a seeded team, and this great group of young players did not quit. They never say die. And that’s one of our core values.”
Q: What did you talk just to kind of keep motivation high through a very defensive first half. What was your message at halftime?
A: “We need to match the energy that that was being brought. to the game. And we did that. We had to bring a little bit more of our competitive side. And we talked about, hey, can we connect a few more passes? You’re playing a good team, whether you like it or not, and then you just must adapt to it. I’m proud of our team for adapting and finding a way to win.”
Q: What is the team going to focus on next, regardless of who you’re playing in those matches?
A: “The next most important thing is recovery. We’re getting back into our system. We had a few weeks off, we played a game, so now we must start with our recovery. Then, we’ll get our training schedule down to build up to go wherever we’re planning on going for next Thursday.”
Starting XI
Off the Bench
Up Next
Clemson looks to next Thursday, November 14, where they will face the winner of Tennessee Tech vs. Vanderbilt following the Tigers’ victory.
For complete coverage of the Clemson women’s soccer program, follow @ClemsonWSoccer on X, Instagram and Facebook.
