Clemson men top Charlotte to advance to NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 (2024)

The No. 9 national seed Clemson men’s soccer team defeated the Charlotte 49ers 3-0 in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament at Riggs Field on Sunday.

Clemson will play at No. 8 national seed New Hampshire next in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on November 26 at 5 p.m. (ESPN+ broadcast). New Hampshire beat Syracuse 3-0 on Sunday.

With the win, Clemson head coach Mike Noonan now has 388 career victories, tying Clemson Hall of Fame coach I.M. Ibrahim on the NCAA’s career wins list.

“Very proud of this team, and we played well tonight,” said Noonan after the game. “Riggs is a charmed place for this team, and we hope we get to play here again. The crowd we gathered for a Sunday night match-up was massive, and were so lucky to play in front of these fans.”

The first half in Clemson started with a quick Charlotte breakaway. In the third minute, the 49ers played a cross that fell into chaos, and the ball rolled to Logan Frost, who hit it high and wide of the top left corner.

The game was physical and had seven straight fouls within four minutes at one point.

Through the first 15 minutes, there was only one shot by the 49ers. In the 19th minute, the 49ers found themselves in a quality position. A pass played across the box was pushed away by Andema, but the rebound by Frost went over the bar.

In the 31st minute, Clemson earned a corner, which was cleared away, and Joran Gerbet hit a half volley, but it floated over the bar. Gerbet’s shot was the first for Clemson.

The Tigers struck first in the 36th minute. A cross from Remi Okunlola went past the keeper and hit the post, but Brandon Parrish was there to tap it in, bringing an electric roar from the home crowd for the Tigers.

At the end of the first half, the Tigers had ten corners but couldn’t capitalize on any of them in the first half. There were 13 fouls total, seven by Charlotte and six by Clemson.

The second half began exactly how Clemson wanted it to. A pass to Alex Meinhard, who backheel flicked it to Ousmane Sylla, who got an easy one-on-one with Leo Stritter and slotted it in the bottom right corner. A touch of class from Meinhard on the assist, and Clemson doubled its lead.

“He’s special, he's creative, he gets into spaces that are hard to defend, if you give him half a chance, he’s going to score,” Noonan said of Sylla.

In the 60th minute, a pass back to Andema, and he was pickpocketed by the corner of the box. Two Clemson players hurried back, however, and Andema reached around and slapped it out for a goal-saving play from Clemson’s goalkeeper.

Five minutes later, a perfect ball was played over the top to Frost, but Frost hit it wide.

In some good buildup play, Meinhard rolled it to Sylla at the top of the box, but his shot went just wide of the bottom right corner. A minute later, Charlotte earned their first shot on goal from Brigham Larsen, but it was a comfortable save for Andema.

In the 86th minute, Charlotte earned a corner, and Clemson’s defense held strong.

A minute later, a slip pass to Arthur Duquenne by Sylla left Duquenne with an easy slot past the keeper to wrap this one up.

After the match, Coach Noonan commented on the next opponent,

“We are facing a superb New Hampshire team; they are outstanding,” Noonan said.

THE SLIDE AND SCORE FROM BP 🤯

📺 ESPN+ | #ClemsonUnited pic.twitter.com/CIw6SLfcED

— Clemson Men's Soccer (@ClemsonMSoccer) November 20, 2023

SNEAKY SYLLA 🤫

📺 ESPN+ I #ClemsonUnited pic.twitter.com/CCDSz7Gq5r

— Clemson Men's Soccer (@ClemsonMSoccer) November 20, 2023

ANOTHER ONE 🤯

📺 ESPN+ I #ClemsonUnited pic.twitter.com/ZZkOhI2ihg

— Clemson Men's Soccer (@ClemsonMSoccer) November 20, 2023

46' I Time to finish the job 😤

📺 https://t.co/dvTRCQvOG5
📊 https://t.co/x2sEgyEgYa#ClemsonUnited pic.twitter.com/TYPUvDc77I

— Clemson Men's Soccer (@ClemsonMSoccer) November 20, 2023