There are talented teams that lack the grittiness to rally in adversity (cough, cough football). Then there are talented teams that never waver and no matter how hard the opponent tries, it just doesn’t matter – that team will find a way.
Guess which one the Clemson men’s soccer team is?
For the second time this season, the Tigers rallied from two goals down on the road in an ACC game to prevent a loss – this time at Virginia Tech in a 2-2 draw. With that result, Clemson (11-2-3) clinched the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament and will host 15th-seeded Louisville (6-6-4, 0-5-3) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
Coincidentally, Louisville is the other team that was up two goals on the Tigers on Oct. 11, which ended in a 3-2 win for Clemson.
In this space before the VT game, I noted that VT wants to keep possession and play over the top. In the first half, they did just that. And we were unprepared. Horrifically unprepared on the back line.
While VT scored two in the first half, they could have easily had as many as five as they missed on two other one-on-ones with the goalie and another gifted opportunity. In the first half, they had five shots with three on goal, two goals and five corner kicks.
It was dicey before the injury to Clemson starting keeper Joseph Andema (more on that later). Andema had to make a one-on-one kick save in the opening two minutes as VT used the Peter Crouch-to-Michael Owen header flick to catch us flat-footed. In the 17th minute, they had another one-on-one with defenders chasing and Andema came out for a clearance, but got his cleat caught in that awful field at VT. Thankfully, the Prick of the Game missed the shot wide to keep it 0-0.
This is probably the easiest selection I’ve ever had for PotG – it’s No. 11 Oliver Roche. He scored in the game, but that’s not why he is this game’s award winner. He was the prick that was always trying to push backup keeper Patrick Donovan into the goal on corner kicks, undercutting him on one in the 54th minute.
I think he got a good push in the back on every defender we had in the game. He picked up a pricktastic yellow card on a late shoulder to shoulder attack on Lundegard. Ball was well off Lundegard’s foot. Roche offered a weak hand to help Lundegard up and he declined. I think if Lundegard didn’t already have two reds on the season and postseason upcoming, it would have been a much different response after that dirty play.
But the injury is not good for Andema. Not sure the extent, but the fact they wouldn’t show the replay, he was in an air cast and carted off the field I think tells us that it’s probably going to be awhile before we see him again (he was on the bench though in the second half, which isn’t terrible). Also, absolutely love Joran Gerbet in this moment – stands over Andema to block cameras getting a good look and keeps talking to Andema throughout the entire time he was laying there. That’s our captain.
Enter backup keeper Patrick Donovan and his 15 career minutes at Clemson between the pipes entering the game. Not even six minutes later, Donovan has to come out and save another one-on-one breakaway (he did an excellent job in this moment to my untrained eye). A couple minutes later, Donovan has to punch a cross out of the box.
VT’s first goal came on his next action. It’s credited as an own goal and Donovan did what he could –
makes another punch, just bounces off Lundegard and goes in.
Maybe a pro keeper is able to catch the ball – not a keeper that had been on the field for 27 career minutes in the 2024 campaign.
Their second goal was just an
awful giveaway from the backline after another Crouch-to-Owen header flick that put Donovan in no man’s land. And it was 2-0 in the 33rd minute. Donovan had another one-on-one before the half was out that bounced off the post.
I put this abysmal first half on the backline. To me, we dominated otherwise and just were flat-footed playing against a kickball team.
Thankfully, we have Alex Meinhard, Ransford Gyan and Gerbet and they don’t.
Meinhard does the hard work and finds Gyan before halftime to make it 2-1 and Gerbet once again scores off a free kick –
this time on a header from a Gyan cross to knot it at 2-2 in the 78th minute.
Donovan, a junior from Westport, Conn., was called on for two more saves in the second half – including one more one-on-one with the Prick that he did a wonderful job with. He is a graduate of Staples High School, which is Coach Noonan’s alma mater. While there, he was named the top goalkeeper in the region by Top Drawer Soccer and the New England Soccer Journal. He also allowed the fewest goals of any keeper in all of MLS Next with Beachside Soccer Club.
Noonan says this about Donovan:
“Patrick is an outstanding prospect who has a very high soccer I.Q. He has been developed in one of the best youth clubs in the country and attended the best high school in the country.”
So, what does Paddy D give us? I think he is a solid, capable keeper, but you can’t manifest experience. He is bigger than Andema (6-2 to 6-0), but I don’t think he is as good with his feet as Andema (who is elite in that area). His distribution wasn’t great, but certainly he is allowed some grace in that area coming in cold. It got better as the game went along.
He did seem to struggle on corner kicks, but VT makes it really hard for keepers on those – basically attempt to box him in with multiple players. I really don’t think we will lose a game because of him – seems fully capable. Again, going to grade him on the bell curve in this game.
And I feel like Aidan Hampton should also be mentioned in this space, just in case. Hampton actually got in a game before Donovan – playing 14 minutes against Loyola (Md.). Similar peripherals to Donovan: Six-foot, Two-inches tall from Connecticut and highly-touted out of high school.
The good news for Wednesday is that Louisville ranks 95th in the country in shots per game. In fact, in the game on Oct. 11, Louisville only took seven shots – they just happened to make two. One was a PK and the other was a breakaway.
For whatever reason, we own the Cardinals at Riggs. Overall record is 7-4-1 against them, but in the last four games at Riggs against Louisville, we’ve gone 4-0-0 and outscored them 17-2.
All of which have come under the leadership of Louisville head coach John Michael Hayden, who is 2-5 against Noonan.
Keep an eye on Gage Guerra for the Cards – in two career games against Clemson, he has two goals. He has nine goals and three assists in 15 games this season. Leon Kondic has two goals and five assists while Ethan Subachan (the other goal scorer in the first matchup this season), Sander Roed and Josh Jones all have three goals.
Win on Wednesday and we host a revenge game. We would host the winner of Notre Dame-Stanford, the only two teams to beat us this year, on Sunday.
As a quick sidenote, SMU looks like a great competitive addition to the conference. In line for ACC championship game appearance in football and got a top-four seed in soccer – coming in at No. 4.
Go Tigers! Beat Louisville!
