2020 Clemson Tigers men's soccer team

The 2020 Clemson Tigers men's soccer team represented Clemson University during the 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Tigers were led by head coach Mike Noonan, in his eleventh season. They played home games at Riggs Field. This was the team's 60th season playing organized men's college soccer and their 33rd playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

2020 Clemson Tigers men's soccer
ACC Tournament
Spring ACC Coastal Division
NCAA Tournament, Third Round
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
U. Soc. Coaches pollNo. 7
TopDrawerSoccer.comNo. 9
Record14–3–3 (7–3–2 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Philip Jones (8th season)
  • Camilo Rodriguez (5th season)
Captains
Home stadiumRiggs Field
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 ACC men's fall soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
North
No. 2 Pittsburgh 4 0 0 7 1 0
No. 4 Virginia Tech 3 1 2 3 2 2
Notre Dame 3 2 0 5 4 0
Virginia 2 3 1 3 4 1
Louisville 1 4 1 1 6 1
Syracuse 0 3 2 0 3 2
South
No. 3 Wake Forest 5 1 0 7 2 0
North Carolina 3 1 2 3 2 2
No. 1 Clemson 3 2 1 8 2 1
Duke 2 4 0 2 6 0
NC State 0 5 1 0 6 1
Boston College 0 0 0 0 0 0
As of March 9, 2021
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches
Source:The ACC
Note: † Due to COVID-19, Boston College suspended the Fall 2020 men's soccer season; begins play in March.
2020 ACC men's spring soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Atlantic
No. 7 Clemson 4 1 1 14 3 3
Louisville 4 2 0 5 8 1
No. 6 Wake Forest + 3 0 2 13 3 2
NC State 1 2 3 3 8 4
Boston College * 1 3 1 1 3 1
Syracuse 0 3 1 2 7 4
Coastal
No. 3 Pittsburgh + 5 1 0 16 4 0
No. 4 North Carolina + 4 1 1 9 5 4
Duke 2 3 1 3 10 3
Virginia 2 4 0 7 8 1
No. 15 Virginia Tech + 2 4 0 7 6 4
Notre Dame 1 5 0 8 9 0
As of May 18, 2021
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches
Source:The ACC
Note: *- Due to COVID-19, Boston College suspended the Fall 2020 men's soccer season; began play in March.

The teams' 2020 season was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which curtailed the fall season and caused the NCAA Tournament to be played in spring 2021. The ACC was one of the only two conferences in men's soccer to play in the fall of 2020. The ACC also held a mini-season during the spring of 2021.

The Tigers finished the fall season 8–2–1 and 3–2–1 in ACC play to finish in third place in the North Division. They won the ACC Tournament by defeating Virginia Tech, Virginia and Pittsburgh in the final. They finished the spring season 4–1–1 and 4–1–1 in ACC play, to finish in first place in the Atlantic Division. They received the ACC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Pittsburgh in a game for the bid. As the first seed in the tournament, they defeated American in the Second Round before losing to Marshall in the Third Round on penalty kicks to end their season.

Background

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The 2019 Clemson men's soccer team finished the season with a 18–2–2 overall record and a 6–1–1 ACC record. The Tigers won the Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division, and were seeded first–overall in the 2019 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament. They defeated Notre Dame and Pittsburgh before falling to Virginia in the final.[1] The Tigers received an at-large bid to the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. Seeded second-overall, they defeated Charlotte and Providence before losing to Stanford in the Quarterfinals.

At the end of the season, three Tigers men's soccer players wer selected in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft: Robbie Robinson, Tanner Dieterich, and Malick Mbaye.[2]

Player movement

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Players leaving

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Daniel Kuzemka 1 GK 6'1" 185   Sophomore Clifton, Virginia Transferred to Charlotte
Judson Burns 2 DF 5'8" 165 Freshman Argyle, Texas Transferred to SMU
Malick Mbaye 5 DF 6'0" 168 Senior Dakar, Senegal Drafted 33rd overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC
Tanner Dieterich 6 DF 6'0" 170 Senior Nashville, Tennessee Drafted 28th overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft by Nashville SC
Robbie Robinson 7 FW 6'2" 170 Junior Camden, South Carolina Drafted 1st overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft by Inter Miami
Adrian Nunez 10 FW 5'7" 150 Senior San José, Costa Rica Graduated
Adam Yorke 12 FW 6'1" 175 Freshman Redondo Beach, California
Cale Thorne 16 MF 6'0" 193   Junior Baltimore, Maryland Graduated
Izzy Garcia-Perez 21 FW 5'9" 157   Freshman Asheville, North Carolina
Nolan Lennon 22 GK 6'2" 190   Senior Piedmont, South Carolina Graduated
Sindri Björnsson 23 MF 6'1" 180 Junior Brieðholt, Iceland Transferred to Villanova
Nate Hall 28 FW 5'4" 145   Junior Baltimore, Maryland Graduated

Players arriving

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Name Nat. Hometown Club TDS Rating
  SEN Dakar, Senegal Montverde Academy      [3]
Ben Erkens
DF
  USA Greenville, SC Carolina Elite Soccer Academy      [4]
Joshua Hallenberger
MF
  USA Perland, TX Houston Dynamo      [5]
Trevor Manion
GK
  USA Phoenixville, PA Penn Fusion SA      [6]
Brandon Parrish
MF
  USA Fairview, TN Darlington Academy      [7]
Titus Sandy Jr
DF
  USA Matthews, NC Charlotte Soccer Academy      [8]
  SEN Dakar, Senegal Montverde Academy      [9]
Seth Wilson
GK
  USA Frisco, TX FC Dallas Academy      [10]

Squad

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Roster

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Updated March 21, 2021[11]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK   USA Max Fisher
1 GK   USA George Marks (captain)
2 DF   USA Ben Erkens
3 DF   SWE Oskar Ågren
4 DF   SEN Justin Malou
5 DF   SEN Hamady Diop
6 DF   USA Dylan Sullivan
8 MF   USA Callum Johnson
9 FW   ENG Kimarni Smith
10 MF   ECU Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador
11 FW   USA Grayson Barber
12 DF   USA Enrique Montana III
13 MF   USA John Martin
14 MF   ESP Mohamed Seye
15 DF   USA Charlie Asensio
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF   USA Quinn McNeill
18 MF   ESP Alvaro Gomez
19 FW   USA Chris Matlashewki
20 MF   KEN Philip Mayaka
21 MF   SEN Osmane Sylla
22 GK   USA Trevor Manion
23 FW   USA Josh Hallenberger
24 MF   USA Stirling Russell
25 FW   USA James Brighton (captain)
26 DF   USA Jake Barron
27 DF   USA Isaiah Reid
28 FW   USA Matthew Boberg
29 MF   USA Brandon Parrish
30 DF   USA Titus Sandy Jr.
32 DF   USA Tyler Hutchinson

Prior to the season, George Marks and James Brighton were named co-captains of the team.[12]

Team management

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Position Staff
Athletic Director   Dan Radakovich
Head coach   Mike Noonan
Associate head coach   Philip Jones
Assistant Coach   Camilo Rodriguez
Director of Operations   Rob Thompson

Source:[13]

Schedule

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Source:[14][15]

Date
Time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
Fall Exhibition
September 11, 2020*
7:00 p.m.
at Virginia  Cancelled[16] 
(–)
Klöckner Stadium
Charlottesville, VA
Fall Regular season
September 18, 2020
7:00 p.m., ACCN
Wake Forest  Postponted[17] 
Riggs Field
Clemson, SC
September 25, 2020
6:00 p.m., ACCN
North Carolina  Postponted[17] 
Riggs Field
Clemson, SC
October 1, 2020*
7:00 p.m.
No. 3 at South Carolina
Rivalry
W 3–0  1–0–0
Stone Stadium (460)
Columbia, SC
October 5, 2020*
6:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 3 UAB W 2–0  2–0–0
Riggs Field (748)
Clemson, SC
October 9, 2020
6:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 3 at North Carolina L 0–1  2–1–0
(0–1–0)
Dorrance Field (0)
Chapel Hill, NC
October 13, 2020
7:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 1 Wake Forest W 2–1  3–1–0
(1–1–0)
Riggs Field (1,000)
Clemson, SC
October 16, 2020
8:00 p.m., ACCN
Duke W 2–1 2OT 4–1–0
(2–1–0)
Riggs Field (1,000)
Clemson, SC
October 23, 2020
8:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 3 at NC State W 1–0  5–1–0
(3–1–0)
Dail Soccer Field (88)
Raleigh, NC
October 27, 2020
7:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 3 No. 5 North Carolina T 3–3 2OT 5–1–1
(3–1–1)
Riggs Field (1,000)
Clemson, SC
October 30, 2020
6:00 p.m., RSN
No. 3 No. 2 Wake Forest L 0–2  5–2–1
(3–2–1)
Spry Stadium (0)
Winston-Salem, NC
ACC Tournament
November 15, 2020
Noon, ACCN
(S3) No. 4 vs. (N2) No. 5 Virginia Tech
Quarterfinals
W 4–1  6–2–1
Koskinen Stadium (0)
Durham, NC
November 18, 2020
6:00 p.m., ACCN
(S3) No. 2 vs. (N4) Virginia
Semifinals
W 2–1  7–2–1
Dorrance Field (50)
Chapel Hill, NC
November 18, 2020
6:00 p.m., ESPNU
(S3) No. 2 vs. (N1) No. 1 Pittsburgh
Final
W 2–1  8–2–1
WakeMed Soccer Park (350)
Cary, NC
Spring Exhibition
February 20, 2021*
4:00 p.m.
vs. North Carolina L 0–1 
CSA OrthoCarolina Sportsplex (0)
Pineville, NC
Spring Regular season
March 7, 2021
5:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 1 Syracuse W 3–1  9–2–1
(4–2–1)
Riggs Field (813)
Clemson, SC
March 13, 2021
5:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 1 at No. 21 Virginia Tech W 1–0 2OT 10–2–1
(5–2–1)
Thompson Field (250)
Blacksburg, VA
March 20, 2021
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 1 NC State W 1–0  11–2–1
(6–2–1)
Riggs Field (753)
Clemson, SC
March 27, 2021
1:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 1 at Boston College W 3–2  12–2–1
(7–2–1)
Newton Soccer Complex (35)
Chestnut Hill, MA
April 2, 2021
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 1 No. 4 Wake Forest T 0–0 2OT 12–2–2
(7–2–2)
Riggs Field (1,000)
Clemson, SC
April 9, 2021
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 3 at Louisville L 1–2  12–3–2
(7–3–2)
Lynn Stadium (0)
Louisville, KY
NCAA Automatic Bid Play-In
April 17, 2021
7:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 4 No. 1 Pittsburgh W 2–0  13–3–2
Riggs Field (1,000)
Clemson, SC
NCAA Tournament
May 2, 2021
5:00 p.m., ESPN3
(1) No. 1 vs. American
Second Round
W 2–1  14–3–2
Spry Stadium (182)
Winston-Salem, NC
May 6, 2021
3:00 p.m., NCAA Livestream
(1) No. 1 vs. No. 10 Marshall
Third Round
T 1–1 (6–7 PKs) 2OT 14–3–3
WakeMed Soccer Park (185)
Cary, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Goals Record

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Rank No. Nat. Po. Name Regular Season ACC Tournament NCAA Tournament Total
1 9   FW Kimarni Smith 4 4 0 8
2 25   FW James Brighton 3 2 1 6
3 16   MF Callum Johnson 4 0 1 5
4 14   MF Mohamed Seye 2 1 1 4
5 5   DF Hamady Diop 2 0 0 2
10   MF Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador 1 1 0 2
11   FW Grayson Barber 2 0 0 2
17   MF Quinn McNeill 1 1 0 2
27   DF Isaiah Reid 1 1 0 2
10 4   DF Justin Malou 1 0 0 1
21   MF Ousmane Sylla 1 0 0 1
Total 22 10 3 35

Disciplinary record

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Rank No. Nat. Po. Name Regular Season ACC Tournament NCAA Tournament Total
                               
1 3 DF   Oskar Ågren 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 0 0
2 10 MF   Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0
14 FW   Mohamed Seye 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 0
4
11 FW   Grayson Barber 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
20 MF   Philip Mayaka 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
6 8 MF   Callum Johnson 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
17 MF   Quinn McNeill 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
24 MF   Stirling Russell 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
9 4 DF   Justin Malou 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
5 DF   Hamady Diop 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
9 FW   Kimarni Smith 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
13 MF   John Martin 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
15 DF   Charlie Asensio 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
21 MF   Osmane Sylla 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
27 DF   Isaiah Reid 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
29 FW   Brandon Parrish 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Total 21 1 0 6 0 0 4 0 0 31 1 0

Awards and honors

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Recipient Award Date Ref.
Mohamed Seye Co-offensive Player of the Week October 5, 2020 [18]
Kimarni Smith Co-offensive Player of the Week October 19, 2020 [19]
George Marks Defensive Player of the Week
Grayson Barber Co-offensive Player of the Week October 26, 2020 [20]
Oskar Ågren Defensive Player of the Week
Kimarni Smith All-ACC Tournament Team November 22, 2020 [21]
Justin Malou
Grayson Barber
Philip Mayaka
Kimarni Smith ACC Tournament MVP
Justin Malou MAC Hermann Trophy Watchlist January 28, 2021 [22]
Kimarni Smith
Grayson Barber All ACC First-Team April 14, 2021 [23]
Philip Mayaka
Kimarni Smith
Oskar Ågren All ACC Second-Team
Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador All ACC Third-Team
Justin Malou
George Marks
Hamady Diop All ACC Rookie Team
Ousmane Sylla

2021 MLS Super Draft

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Player Team Round Pick # Position
Philip Mayaka Colorado Rapids 1 3 MF
Kimarni Smith D.C. United 1 4 FW
Justin Malou Columbus Crew 1 27 DF

Source:[24]

Rankings

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Fall 2020

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Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes.
Poll Wk
1
Wk
2
Wk
3
Wk
4
Wk
5
Wk
6
Wk
7
Wk
8
Wk
9
Final
United Soccer[25] 2 3 3 3 3 5 4 2 1

Spring 2021

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Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes.
Poll Pre Wk
1
Wk
2
Wk
3
Wk
4
Wk
5
Wk
6
Wk
7
Wk
8
Wk
9
Wk
10
Wk
11
Wk
12
Wk
13
Final
United Soccer[25] None Released 1 (16) 1 (23) 1 (19) 1 (24) 1 (23) 3 (4) 4 (1) 1 (21) None Released 7
TopDrawer Soccer [26] 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 5 1 1 9 9

References

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  1. ^ "Clemson's Effort Falls Short in Championship Match". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University. November 17, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  2. ^ "14 ACC Players Picked on Day 1 of MLS SuperDraft". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 9, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  3. ^ "Hamady Diop". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Ben Erkens". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Joshua Hallenberger". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  6. ^ "Trevor Manion". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  7. ^ "Brandon Parrish". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  8. ^ "Titus Sandy Jr". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  9. ^ "Ousmane Sylla". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  10. ^ "Seth Wilson". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  11. ^ "2020-21 Men's Soccer Roster". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University Athletics. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  12. ^ "Twitter". twitter.com. Clemson University Athletics. August 20, 2020. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  13. ^ "Men's Soccer Staff Directory". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University Athletic Department. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  14. ^ "2020-21 Men's Soccer Schedule". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University Athletics. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  15. ^ "Men's Soccer Announces 2021 Spring Schedule". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University Athletics. January 23, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  16. ^ "Clemson soccer exhibition canceled after positive COVID-19 tests". tigernet.com. Clemson University Athletic Communications. September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Men's Soccer, Volleyball Postpone Season-Openers". clemsontigers.com. Clemson University Athletics. September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  18. ^ "Holcomb, Seye, Smir Earn ACC Men's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. October 5, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  19. ^ "Noel, Smith, Marks Claim ACC Men's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  20. ^ "Barber, Hernandez, Ågren Pick Up ACC Men's Soccer Weekly Honors". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  21. ^ "Clemson Downs Pitt, 2-1, to Win ACC Men's Soccer Championship". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  22. ^ "2020-21 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch Lists Announced". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  23. ^ "2020 All-ACC Men's Soccer Team Announced". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  24. ^ "2021 MLS SuperDraft Tracker". MLSSoccer.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  25. ^ a b "NCAA DI Men's National Rankings". National Soccer Coaches Association of America. May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  26. ^ "College Soccer National Rankings". TopDrawer Soccer. May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.