National champs: Clemson men's soccer dominates in title upset of No. 2 Washington |
CARY, NORTH CAROLINA - “
Clemson!” roared one side of WakeMed Soccer Park. “
Tigers!” answered the other side of the largely partisan orange-clad crowd watching Clemson men’s soccer in the national championship of the College Cup on Sunday.
No. 8 national seed Clemson built an early lead and never looked back to down No. 2 national seed Washington, 2-0. Tigers head coach Mike Noonan has Clemson back on the mountaintop. The program-marking win adds a third national title to the men’s soccer trophy case but a first since 1987 (1984 the other). It is also Clemson’s first team national title outside of football since 2003 (men's golf) and a seventh national title in school history overall. Clemson (16-5-5) was on the board early – really early. Playing with the sun in his eyes in the first half, sophomore Huskies goalkeeper Sam Fowler saw two long balls punted into his direction early – and on the second one, he whiffed on an attempted clearance and junior Rock Hill native Isaiah Reid took advantage and passed the ball into the open net 26 seconds into the game. "Honestly, I don’t know what was going through my head. I’m at a loss for words right now," Reid said postgame. "Before the game I wanted to start the game on the front foot. To be able to help my team. I ran onto that ball and just thought about scoring. I’m glad it happened." The Tigers stayed on the gas from there and controlled the action for much of the first 45 minutes. Reid was in the right place at the right time again in 15th minute, where a feed from Ousmane Sylla to the outside to Charlie Asensio’s cross into the box found Reid deep in the Washington box, where he deposited it into top left corner of the net on a header for his second goal of the game. "You just have to take your moments, don’t ya? They can happen in the first minute of the game and they can happen in the 94th minute of the game," Noonan said. "When the moments come, you have to be prepared and I think that’s the best part of the team. We told them that they needed to focus, and we told them they needed to play free. And we told them they needed to have fun. Those were the three words I gave them going into the game. One of our core values is that we play a game. We play a game to have fun and I think the guys had fun today. They played free and they were focused and ready to take their moments." Those were Clemson’s only two shots of the first half and the Huskies didn’t record a shot until there were 17 minutes left in the first session. Washington entered the game ranked in the top-10 nationally in goals against average and had only given up two or more goals in regulation time twice (both to Oregon State, who Clemson beat last week in Corvallis, Oregon last week). Reid had an early shot at the hat trick out of the break after coolly dribbling through Washington defenders and firing off a shot that went just wide of goal. Back around his hometown of Raleigh, senior Clemson captain George Marks controlled his area on incoming free kicks to neutralize any momentum Washington (18-2-2) sought to create. Mark tallied his eighth shutout of the season. He was instrumental in the Tigers advancing to the title game with two penalty shootout stops in the win over Notre Dame on Friday, after injuring himself on a dive to stop a first-half penalty. "I think we were playing free out there," Marks said. "Coach talks about it a lot, playing free. I think at the end of the day when you’re playing for something bigger than yourself – playing for an entire program, everyone who has tried to make this happen over the last 34 years – you can forgo the pressure and the hard things. I think in the second half of the Notre Dame game, I kind of banged myself up doing it and wasn’t feeling very good. But what got me through is my love for these guys, and at the end of the day, I got to serve them the best way possible and I was able to do my job just like Isaiah did his job today and that’s what it’s about. Playing your role to best of your ability." This was Noonan’s second trip to the College Cup with Clemson (2015) after also coming up a game short in home Elite 8 matchups in 2016 and 2019. In that run, there were some heartbreakers, and in addition to program goals, Noonan also knocked out some family bragging rights as well Sunday. “Let me think about that for a second – it’s at the top. It’s at the top," Noonan said when asked about where the moment ranks in his soccer career. "The funny story is my brother won it with Duke back in ‘82 or ‘82 and when I took the job at Clemson, he waves his ring in my face at Christmas time, all the time. I tell him, ‘I’m going to Clemson and you’re not going to be the only one with a ring.’ And 12 years later, it’s true." Noonan says the groundwork for the tournament run goes further back than even just this season. "There were a couple big injuries that we had to shift and pivot a little bit," Noonan said. "I think it was built over the course of the last couple years. It wasn’t just built over the course of the season. The 10 seniors faced some bitter, bitter disappointments and you talk about the resiliency. Through those disappointments, they stayed at it. Through those disappointments -- grew strength…When we came to the tournament, this team was tough. I mean tough, and they showed it throughout the tournament." 2021 NCAA Men’s College Cup All-Tournament Team Name, School, Position Oskar Agren, Clemson, D Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador, Clemson, M Justin Malou, Clemson, D Zach Riviere, Georgetown, M/F Jack Lynn, Notre Dame, F Lucas Meek, Washington, M Charlie Ostrem, Washington, D Ryan Sailor, Washington, D Dylan Teves, Washington, M Offensive Most Outstanding Player: Isaiah Reid, Clemson, F Defensive Most Outstanding Player: George Marks, Clemson, GK
?? 26 seconds in and @ClemsonMSoccer takes a 1-0 lead! ??#MCollegeCup pic.twitter.com/z4jooztvca
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) December 12, 2021
ISAIAH AGAIN!!! THE HEADER, THE BRACE, IT'S 2-0 TIGERS JUST 15 MINUTES IN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH!!!!!!!#ClemsonUnited????
— Clemson Men's Soccer (@ClemsonMSoccer) December 12, 2021
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??https://t.co/wq7muCPwO2 pic.twitter.com/hydSR1DBDf
#Clemson men’s soccer, national champs. pic.twitter.com/mHYWul4GRQ
— TigerNet.com (@ClemsonTigerNet) December 12, 2021
ClemsonFB ?? ClemsonMSoccer
— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) December 12, 2021
3x National Champs
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— Clemson Men's Soccer (@ClemsonMSoccer) December 12, 2021
LET THE CELEBRATION BEGIN!!!!!!!??#ClemsonUnited???? pic.twitter.com/VPcmEyiCAy
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— The ACC (@theACC) December 12, 2021
????????????????????????????@ClemsonMSoccer, NATIONAL CHAMPS.
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Clemson defeats Washington 2-0 to win national Championship. Seventh national championship in Clemson athletics history. Three for men's soccer, three football and one men's golf. Mike Noonan is fifth different Clemson coach in any sport to win National Championship.
— Tim Bourret (@TimBourret) December 12, 2021
Clemson football went 35 years in between national championships, 1981-2016. Men's soccer went 34 years, 1987-2021.
— Tim Bourret (@TimBourret) December 12, 2021
National Champion has a nice ring to it! ??
— Clemson University (@ClemsonUniv) December 12, 2021
@ClemsonMSoccer #ClemsonUnited pic.twitter.com/SzoC6DafZL
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