Tigers shut out No. 1 Pitt to earn ACC's NCAA automatic bid |
No. 4-ranked Clemson men's soccer knocked off a No. 1-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers team for the second time in six months over the extended ACC soccer season to earn the conference's NCAA automatic qualifier spot Saturday.
Junior midfielder Quinn Mcneill got the Tigers (13-3-2, 7-3-2 ACC) on the board in the 17th minute at Riggs Field after a deflection near Pitt's goal that fell to his foot for a strike. The Tigers and Panthers were even on shots (6) and saves (2) at the half in a physical game that yielded 23 total fouls and four yellow cards. Sophomore Isaiah Reid broke through in the 83rd minute to seal the win after getting set up well by an assist from sophomore forward Mohamed Saye for the 2-0 win. “Obviously, this means we get the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and will probably be the No. 1 seed in the tournament, which is valuable,” Clemson coach Mike Noonan said postgame. “But more importantly, we got a win in front of our home fans and closed out the season the right way.” Junior Clemson goalkeeper George Marks notched the shutout with three saves. Clemson beat a No. 1-ranked Pitt team 2-1 on Nov. 22 in the ACC Championship in Cary, N.C., that wrapped the fall part of the 2020-21 NCAA season. The NCAA Tournament field is scheduled to be announced at noon on April 19 on the NCAA website. 17' || CLEMSON STRIKES FIRST 83' || CLEMSON DOUBLES ITS LEAD!! Another special night at Historic Riggs Field ??#ClemsonUnited ???? pic.twitter.com/CXOtbPSscU
Quinn McNeill scores off the volley to give #ClemsonUnited an early 1-0 lead! Pipe provided the great ball into the box!
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A great piece of transition play sees Isaiah Reid score the second goal of the match after a great piece of play from Moha Seye!
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Notes (via Clemson communications)
Clemson improved its all-time record to 699-278-94 across 61 seasons of competition.
Clemson improved to 13-3-2 during the 2020-21 season.
Clemson improved to 6-0-0 this season in non-conference matches.
Clemson has extended its unbeaten streak at home to 25 consecutive matches. The streak started on Oct. 23, 2018 and is the third-longest streak in program history. The program record stands at 29 consecutive matches and was set from Oct. 26, 1975 to Nov. 26, 1977.
Clemson men’s soccer won its eleventh all-time match against the nation’s top-ranked team by defeating Pittsburgh Saturday evening.
This was Clemson’s 38th all-time win over the number-one team in any sport. Baseball has the most wins with 17 and men’s soccer is next with 11.
Head coach Mike Noonan is now 4-2-1 at Clemson when playing the nation’s top-ranked team.
The 2020-21 season is the first in program history that Clemson has beaten the nation’s No. 1 team three times.
Clemson earned its fifth win against the nation’s top-ranked team at home. This was the second time that Clemson defeated the No. 1 team at home in 2020-21, as the Tiger beat then-No. 1 Wake Forest back on Oct. 13, 2020.
Pittsburgh is the third school that Clemson has defeated twice while ranked No. 1 at the time of the match. The Tigers have defeated Wake Forest and Maryland twice when they entered the match as the nation’s top-ranked team.
Clemson advances to its 33rd NCAA Tournament after securing the ACC’s automatic bid on Saturday.
Clemson has advanced to its seventh NCAA Tournament in the past eight seasons.
Clemson now holds a 6-1-0 record against Pittsburgh.
Clemson improved to 5-0-0 against Pittsburgh when ranked within the top-10 nationally.
Clemson has equaled its longest win-streak in the series having won the last three matches. The Tigers won the first three matches in the series.
Clemson improves to 108-8-7 under Noonan when scoring first.
Quinn McNeill’s goal in the 17th minute was the fifth of his career and second of the season. McNeill’s first multi-goal season came in 2018.
Callum Johnson earned his 70th collegiate appearance on Saturday by making his 45th collegiate start.
Charlie Asensio made his 55th collegiate start as a part of Clemson’s defense against Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Isaiah Reid earned his tenth collegiate start on Saturday. Reid played as a forward this evening against Pittsburgh.
Charlie Asensio and Justin Malou earned their 18th starts of the season on Saturday. The pair of outside-backs are the only two players on Clemson’s roster to have earned the start in each match this season.
John Martin made his 25th collegiate appearance with Clemson by entering as a substitute in the second half.
•Clemson’s 2-0 win over #1 ranked Pittsburgh tonight was the school’s 11th win over the #1 team in men’s soccer history. It was the program’s third win over #1 this academic year year, as the Tigers defeated #1 Wake Forest back on Oct. 13, 2020 and Pittsburgh on November 22, 2020 in the ACC Tournament. It is the first Clemson program to have three wins over #1 in same year since baseball team beat #1 Florida State team three times in 2012.
•This was Clemson’s 38th all-time win over the number-one team in any sport. Baseball has the most with 17, followed by men’s soccer’s 11. Men’s Basketball, football, women’s basketball and men’s tennis have two apiece and women’s soccer and women’s tennis each have one.
Clemson wins over Number-one Ranked Teams (38)
Sport Date Site Opponent Score
Baseball #5-21-77 Miami, FL Miami (FL) 7-2
Baseball #5-22-77 Miami, FL Miami (FL) 10-9
Men’s Soccer 10-23-77 Clemson, SC St. Louis 3-1
Men's B-Ball 1-9-80 Clemson, SC Duke 87-82 (OT)
Men's Tennis 2-6-82 Los Angeles, CA UCLA 5-4
Men’s Soccer 9-19-82 Edwardsville, IL SIU-Edwardsville 2-1
Men’s Soccer #11-25-84 Clemson, SC Alabama A&M 3-1
Men's Tennis 3-22-86 Malibu, CA Pepperdine 8-1
Baseball 5-10-86 Greenville, SC Miami (FL) 7-4
Baseball 5-11-86 Greenville, SC Miami (FL) 9-5
Men’s Soccer #11-22-87 Bloomington, IN Indiana 2-1
Women's B-Ball 3-3-91 Fayetteville, NC Virginia 65-62
Women's B-Ball 2-15-92 Clemson, SC Maryland 72-55
Baseball 5-17-93 Greenville, SC Georgia Tech 9-8
Men’s Soccer 10-10-93 Charlottesville, VA Virginia 2-1
Baseball 5-13-94 Atlanta, GA Georgia Tech 9-8
Baseball 5-15-94 Atlanta, GA Georgia Tech 7-4
Baseball #6-4-96 Omaha, NE Alabama 14-13
Baseball 4-10-99 Tallahassee, FL Florida State 8-4
Women's Soccer 9-13-00 Clemson, SC North Carolina 2-1
Men's Basketball 2-18-01 Clemson, SC North Carolina 75-65
Men’s Soccer #11-30-02 Winston-Salem, NC Wake Forest 2-1 (OT)
Baseball 4-5-06 Columbia, SC South Carolina 3-2
Men’s Soccer 9-8-06 Clemson, SC Maryland 2-1
Baseball 3-27-10 (1) Charlottesville, Va Virginia 8-5
Baseball #6-21-10 Omaha, NE Arizona State 6-3
Men’s Soccer 10-28-11 Clemson, SC Maryland 2-1
Baseball 5-12-12 Clemson, SC Florida State 7-2
Baseball 5-14-12 Clemson, SC Florida State 9-7
Baseball 5-25-12 Greensboro, NC Florida State 9-7
Baseball 4-1-13 Chapel Hill, NC North Carolina 5-4
Baseball 3-21-14 Clemson, SC Florida State 9-3
Women’s Tennis 4-17-14 Clemson, SC Duke 4-3
Football #1-09-17 Tampa, Fl. Alabama 35-31
Football #1-11-19 Santa, Clara, Calif. Alabama 44-16
Men’s Soccer 10-13-20 Clemson, SC Wake Forest 2-1
Men’s Soccer 11-22-20 Cary, NC Pittsburgh (ACC) 2-1
Men’s Soccer 4-17-2021 Clemson, SC Pittsburgh 2-0
Denotes NCAA or bowl game Postseason play
(1) denotes first game of doubleheader.
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