As was stated in the Notre Dame game thread, we are still talented – no doubt there – but we are making some egregious mistakes.
Mistakes that have handed No. 24 Clemson, 5-2-2, a loss (2-1 at Notre Dame) and a draw (2-2 at Uof) that it didn’t deserve (or maybe we did?). And the way those two games happened are eerily similar:
First the two goals… our freshman CB has been outstanding this season, starting six of the eight games he has played in. He misjudged two balls over the top and Notre Dame was able to capitalize on both – one that he missed a touch on and the other he tried to stop the ball going over him and just couldn’t get enough height on his jump in time. Setup a fast break. And watch the English on this ball after it bounces off Titus Sandy Jr. – 9.5 times out of 10, it goes wide.
While I’ve always been a believer of you make your own luck, these two were unfortunate, albeit self-inflicted and shouldn’t have happened.
So, against ACC teams and our rival from Columbia, we’ve given up seven goals. Four (!) of them have been within three minutes of them having a kickoff, including two under 35 seconds.
He missed the entire Stanford game, serving a suspension from getting a second yellow at Uof (never even committed a foul that game, but deservedly got two yellow cards) and he received a much-deserved straight red at Notre Dame in the 60’, 63-seconds after their first goal.
For those keeping track at home, with our captain on the field we have a 0.699 GAA that would rank 14th in the country. With him off the field, we have a 2.4 GAA, which would rank 193rd in the country.
Currently, we are 60th at 1.021 GAA, which isn’t up to standard. I know you can make stats say anything, so let’s let them say this: outside of three minutes of a kickoff from the other team and with our captain on the field, we’ve given up ONE GOAL on the season which equates to a .158 GAA. For reference, James Madison leads the country with a .375 GAA.
Now, with our captain out for another game(s?), maybe not the perfect time to welcome No. 3 and undefeated UNC to Historic Riggs Field on Friday at 7 p.m. Last week, we discussed our inefficiency in front of goal and the Heels (6-0-3) come in with a minuscule .556 GAA over nine games. And they score roughly the same as us (19 goals for us in nine games, 18 for them).
The Tar Heels are led by Harvard grad transfer Martin Vician with six goals and senior transfer from NCSU Luke Hille with four goals. Midfielder Juan Caffaro also has four assists.
But their bread is buttered with their backline and highlighted by redshirt junior keeper Andrew Cordes. While 0.56 in nine games seems impossibly low, it's no fluke: he had a 0.58 GAA all of last season.
Ousmane Sylla was able to hit that wonder goal in the ACC Championship game to beat him. In two games against Clemson – a loss in PKs last year and a 1-0 loss in 2022, Cordes has made 10 saves. The goal in 2022 was scored off a corner kick.
We’ve gotten 30 shots off against Cordes and UNC in the last two matchups, all but four in regulation. However, only four – two in each game – were on goal.
Encouraging part is that the last two years, UNC gave up just 8.4 shots per game and we had 30. Bad news is that despite nearly doubling up their shots allowed, we fell below their 3.6 SOG allowed per game. Same song, different dance.
When our captain was benched for Stanford, we slid Lukas Magnason into his CB spot and went Galen Flynn-Sandy Jr.- Magnason-Remi Okunlola across the backline. However, against Notre Dame, we were back to our more normal three-back set with our captain, Magnason and Sandy. Jr with Remi and Antonio Illuminato providing defensive responsibilities on the wings.
My guess is that we are kind of forced to go back to a back three and that will have Magnason in the middle, Sandy Jr. on one side of him and Arthur Duquenne on the other side, with Remi and either Flynn or Illuminato (goal scorer vs. ND) providing help on the wing. Also could have Will Cain out there, who has played in four games for just over 150 minutes.
And apologies for not catching this earlier, but we’ve been missing Nathan Richmond. The third-round draft pick of Charlotte FC in the MLS Super Draft last year has only played 94 minutes of three games this year. He scored five goals and had five assists last year in 18 games.
The son of 1987 Clemson national champion Richie, he was expected to play a significant role this year. Not sure what is going on there – I know he injured his back last season and missed some time. If only we knew someone that knew Coach Noonan, Chandler Simpson (SID for Men’s Soccer) or another figure that could give a quick update on Richmond, that’d be great @Larry_Williams or @Paul Strelow. Thanks! 😁
Oh, and to quote the famed Leeds United fans Kaiser Chiefs, I predict a riot – hopefully by the fans at the end of the game, but likely on the field. These two teams do not like each other. Over the last two games, the squads have combined for 54 fouls (31 for Clemson, 23 for UNC) and eight yellow cards.
We’ve got to keep our heads and finish – can’t beat ourselves in this one.
Go Tigers! Beat UNC!
<I'll have an answer on my ticket availability this afternoon>
Mistakes that have handed No. 24 Clemson, 5-2-2, a loss (2-1 at Notre Dame) and a draw (2-2 at Uof) that it didn’t deserve (or maybe we did?). And the way those two games happened are eerily similar:
- Two mistakes by a single player in the back directly resulted in their two goals
- A goal given up immediately after we took the lead
- And a red card to our captain that both were inexplicable in why they happened.
First the two goals… our freshman CB has been outstanding this season, starting six of the eight games he has played in. He misjudged two balls over the top and Notre Dame was able to capitalize on both – one that he missed a touch on and the other he tried to stop the ball going over him and just couldn’t get enough height on his jump in time. Setup a fast break. And watch the English on this ball after it bounces off Titus Sandy Jr. – 9.5 times out of 10, it goes wide.
While I’ve always been a believer of you make your own luck, these two were unfortunate, albeit self-inflicted and shouldn’t have happened.
So, against ACC teams and our rival from Columbia, we’ve given up seven goals. Four (!) of them have been within three minutes of them having a kickoff, including two under 35 seconds.
- After we went up 1-0 at Uof, they tied it in 34-seconds.
- After halftime against Uof, they scored to take the lead in 28-seconds.
- After we went up 1-0 on Stanford, they tied it up in 2-minutes, 52- seconds
- After we took a 1-0 lead at Notre Dame, the Irish tied it up 2-minutes, 40-seconds later
He missed the entire Stanford game, serving a suspension from getting a second yellow at Uof (never even committed a foul that game, but deservedly got two yellow cards) and he received a much-deserved straight red at Notre Dame in the 60’, 63-seconds after their first goal.
For those keeping track at home, with our captain on the field we have a 0.699 GAA that would rank 14th in the country. With him off the field, we have a 2.4 GAA, which would rank 193rd in the country.
Currently, we are 60th at 1.021 GAA, which isn’t up to standard. I know you can make stats say anything, so let’s let them say this: outside of three minutes of a kickoff from the other team and with our captain on the field, we’ve given up ONE GOAL on the season which equates to a .158 GAA. For reference, James Madison leads the country with a .375 GAA.
Now, with our captain out for another game(s?), maybe not the perfect time to welcome No. 3 and undefeated UNC to Historic Riggs Field on Friday at 7 p.m. Last week, we discussed our inefficiency in front of goal and the Heels (6-0-3) come in with a minuscule .556 GAA over nine games. And they score roughly the same as us (19 goals for us in nine games, 18 for them).
The Tar Heels are led by Harvard grad transfer Martin Vician with six goals and senior transfer from NCSU Luke Hille with four goals. Midfielder Juan Caffaro also has four assists.
But their bread is buttered with their backline and highlighted by redshirt junior keeper Andrew Cordes. While 0.56 in nine games seems impossibly low, it's no fluke: he had a 0.58 GAA all of last season.
Ousmane Sylla was able to hit that wonder goal in the ACC Championship game to beat him. In two games against Clemson – a loss in PKs last year and a 1-0 loss in 2022, Cordes has made 10 saves. The goal in 2022 was scored off a corner kick.
We’ve gotten 30 shots off against Cordes and UNC in the last two matchups, all but four in regulation. However, only four – two in each game – were on goal.
Encouraging part is that the last two years, UNC gave up just 8.4 shots per game and we had 30. Bad news is that despite nearly doubling up their shots allowed, we fell below their 3.6 SOG allowed per game. Same song, different dance.
When our captain was benched for Stanford, we slid Lukas Magnason into his CB spot and went Galen Flynn-Sandy Jr.- Magnason-Remi Okunlola across the backline. However, against Notre Dame, we were back to our more normal three-back set with our captain, Magnason and Sandy. Jr with Remi and Antonio Illuminato providing defensive responsibilities on the wings.
My guess is that we are kind of forced to go back to a back three and that will have Magnason in the middle, Sandy Jr. on one side of him and Arthur Duquenne on the other side, with Remi and either Flynn or Illuminato (goal scorer vs. ND) providing help on the wing. Also could have Will Cain out there, who has played in four games for just over 150 minutes.
And apologies for not catching this earlier, but we’ve been missing Nathan Richmond. The third-round draft pick of Charlotte FC in the MLS Super Draft last year has only played 94 minutes of three games this year. He scored five goals and had five assists last year in 18 games.
The son of 1987 Clemson national champion Richie, he was expected to play a significant role this year. Not sure what is going on there – I know he injured his back last season and missed some time. If only we knew someone that knew Coach Noonan, Chandler Simpson (SID for Men’s Soccer) or another figure that could give a quick update on Richmond, that’d be great @Larry_Williams or @Paul Strelow. Thanks! 😁
Oh, and to quote the famed Leeds United fans Kaiser Chiefs, I predict a riot – hopefully by the fans at the end of the game, but likely on the field. These two teams do not like each other. Over the last two games, the squads have combined for 54 fouls (31 for Clemson, 23 for UNC) and eight yellow cards.
We’ve got to keep our heads and finish – can’t beat ourselves in this one.
Go Tigers! Beat UNC!
<I'll have an answer on my ticket availability this afternoon>
