No. 1 Clemson continues College Cup bid against Marshall

Clemson seeks another quarterfinal bid on Thursday. (Clemson athletics/David Platt)

by Zachary Wagner - Correspondent - Wed May 05 10:03:31 GMT-04:00 2021

The No.1 seeded Clemson men's soccer team is set to take on Marshall in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament on Thursday in Cary, North Carolina at 3 p.m. It is the fifth time under head coach Mike Noonan that the Tigers have made it to the third round of the NCAAs, and the second time in as many tournaments.

The Tigers advanced to the round of 16 on Saturday after a come-from-behind win against American, scoring two goals in the second half to claim the win. Mohamed Seye netted the equalizer in the 52nd minute and the captain James Brighton scored the game-winning goal from the penalty spot 10 minutes later to propel the first-seeded Tigers over American.

“I thought the team played well and were resilient when coming back from a goal down,” Noonan said after the match. “It was difficult without the Riggs (Field) fans (tournament is being played on a neutral field due to COVID) and it’s also difficult to play against 11 guys on one half of the field, but eventually we broke through and wore them down.”

The Tigers defense held the Eagles to three total shots and George Marks did not have to face a single shot in the second half. The pesky Clemson attack forced American into committing 17 fouls on the afternoon.

“The defense did well handling the ball,” Noonan said when asked about holding the Eagles to three shots. “I thought our defense passed the ball real well and I think that's the way they were able to sustain the pressure in the attacking half of the field.”

Clemson will now meet Marshall in the Sweet 16 on Thursday at Wakemed Field in Cary, N.C. The Herd defeated Fordham by a score of 2-1 in the second round and enter the contest with a 10-2-2 record compared to No. 1 Clemson’s 14-3-2 record.

“Marshall is going to be a very well-coached team,” the 11th year head coach said about the upcoming opponent. “There's a reason they have risen to where they have very quickly. They’re talented and it’s going to be another very good test for us.”

With a win on Thursday, the Tigers could make it back-to-back tournaments reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time since 2015-16. The game can be seen live on goheels.com.