No. 1 Tigers comeback, hold on to draw against Gamecocks after red card

Clemson had a 10-game winning streak in the rivalry series snapped, but the Tigers have now been unbeaten against the Gamecocks 11 in a row after Friday's 2-2 draw.

Brooks Thomason · Correspondent · Friday, August 30 2024

COLUMBIA, South Carolina – The No. 1-ranked Clemson men's soccer team (1-0-1) battled South Carolina (1-0-2) to a 2-2 draw at Stone Stadium in the 53rd meeting of the Palmetto Series between the two rivals.

Clemson's 10-game winning streak in the series was snapped, but it continued its 11-game unbeaten run against the Gamecocks.

As a rivalry does, the game started chippy with Ransford Gyan pushed down after a pass late, and Misei Yoshizawa tripped up after two minutes. A minute later, Gyan got his revenge with a late foul on a Gamecock player.

Also in the early action, Alex Meinhard was left with himself and the keeper, where he shot it low for placement, but freshman Filip Versterre got low and made a beautiful save. Fifteen minutes in, South Carolina also had some beautiful passing that gave Harrison Mying some space at the top of the box. He fired a shot, but it just went over the bar to spare Clemson.

The pressure of the Tigers kept ramping up. In the 25th minute, Gyan dashed into the box and drew a foul. Meinhard stepped up for the penalty kick, and Versterre saved his shot, but the rebound went right to him, and Meinhard finished off the opening goal with his left foot.

A minute later, South Carolina came down, and Clemson’s mindset was not ready. Defender Junior Saint Juste got into the box and crossed it lightly to Myring, who slotted it in the bottom left corner. The Gamecocks equalized when most teams struggled to find a path to score against Clemson.

Right after the goal, South Carolina gained a lot of momentum, earning themselves a corner and a couple of promising chances that had the home crowd on their feet, but to no avail. In the 43rd minute, Bryce Griffith curled a shot towards the top right corner, but Joseph Andema made a stunning diving safe to keep it tied going into the half.

44' || Joseph!!!! What a save!

1-1 | #ClemsonUnited
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— Clemson Men's Soccer (@ClemsonMSoccer) August 31, 2024

Opening the second half, Clemson got caught sleeping again. Crossing in, Andema made a save to stop a goal, but the rebound was scored by Gabe Nickerson easily, and the home team took the lead straight into the second half.

In the 60th minute, Adam Lundegard and Gabriel Antienza got into a scuffle after a late challenge by Atienza. Lundegard tripped Atienza after he tried to get back from the late challenge, and the rivalry hatred spilled over to some chatter from both teams.

In the 66th minute, Clemson got the ball from bad control by South Carolina, Gyan crossed the ball, it landed backpost and Yoshizawa’s shot was deflected, took a bounce off the bottom off the crossbar and went in. Luck was on Clemson’s side and the equalizer they needed to get momentum on their side.

Yes Misei! We keep going!!!#ClemsonUnited
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— Clemson Men's Soccer (@ClemsonMSoccer) August 31, 2024

In the 74th minute, Lundegard lost possession and held back South Carolina for a clear second yellow card for Lundegard. For the next 15 minutes, Clemson played a man down.

Clemson dug in and invited pressure from the Gamecocks. However, in the 85th minute, Clemson struck a rare chance. A pass played across the box to Tyler Trimnal landed right at his feet, and his shot was blocked. The ball bounced towards Gyan, whose second shot was blocked. Clemson’s chance was squandered, and South Carolina went back to their attack.

Next up, Clemson will take on new ACC opponent Stanford next Friday, September 6th without its defender and captain Lundegard (red card suspension), while South Carolina will take on Belmont on Saturday, September 7th, where they look to bounce back from two straight draws.