Clemson women earn national seed in NCAA Tournament

Clemson performed well in an all-non-conference slate this spring. (Clemson athletics photo)

by CU Athletic Communications - Mon Apr 19 14:42:24 GMT-04:00 2021

CLEMSON, S.C. - The Clemson women’s soccer team earned its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament selection after receiving a 14-seed during Monday afternoon’s selection show. It is the 21st all-time appearance for the program playing in its 27th season.

With the 14-seed, the Tigers have received a first-round bye and will instead face the winner of the Rutgers (8-3-3) and Southeastern La. (8-2-4) match in the second round (April 30-May 1 games). The match between the Scarlet Knights and Lions is set to kick off on April 27 at 7 p.m. with the winner taking on the Tigers on April 30 at 7 p.m.

“We are going to play a good team regardless of who advances to the next round, so we have to be ready,” said Radwanski. “One of the guiding points of what we were trying to build as a staff when we started 10 years ago was to flip the narrative and create this sort of consistency that warrants being at a place like Clemson. To have done it for seven straight years now is just a testament to the teams we’ve had.”

The Tigers finished the regular season with a 12-4-0 overall record while going 5-3 within conference play. With competition being split between both the fall and spring, Clemson recorded its first home record in program history, going 7-0-0 on the year and clinching the perfect home season with an overtime win over Alabama.

In addition to the success at Historic Riggs Field, the Tigers earned a perfect spring portion of the season which was highlighted by six wins, three of those being on the road including the second consecutive win over South Carolina, who carried the nation’s 11th ranking at the time of the match.

“Super excited for our student-athletes in a very unusual year, met with all sorts of challenges, to get the opportunity to participate in the NCAA Tournament,” said Head Coach Eddie Radwanski. “To be a seeded team and earn a bye is all the credit to the team because they really are the ones putting in the work. Incredibly grateful for the opportunity and excited that our young team took advantage of the games that we did have and earned the right to be a part of this.”

This season’s tournament will feature a 48-team field and will utilize various campus venues and off-campus sites in Cary, N.C., and the surrounding areas for the first four rounds of competition with the College Cup being contested at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.