No. 3 UNC men's soccer falls to Clemson, 3-2, in first loss of season

The No. 3 North Carolina men’s soccer team (6-1-3, 3-1 ACC) fell to No. 24 Clemson (6-2-2, 3-2 ACC), in a 3-2 decision on Friday night at Riggs Field. 

North Carolina smothered the Tigers with defensive pressure in the first few minutes. At first, the Tigers couldn’t seem to string together a drive past the Tar Heels’ back line. Eventually, they were able to penetrate to take control of the first ten minutes.

As a result, a defensive back-and-forth ensued. No shots were taken by either side for the first 15 minutes of the match. 

In the 19th minute, redshirt junior goalkeeper Andrew Cordes dove to the feet of Clemson’s graduate Alex Meinhard to prevent the Tigers from the chance to attempt a shot.

The Tar Heels had an excellent chance for the first score of the game off of a corner kick by graduate midfielder Juan Caffaro, but Caffaro overshot the net and it sailed over both crossbars and out of bounds.

The Tar Heels finally broke through on the first shot attempt of the game at the end of the 22nd minute thanks to star graduate forward Martin Vician — who found a slim pocket in the bottom right corner of the net — and a soaring assist by senior forward Luke Hille and a bit of slippage by Clemson defender Arthur Duquenne.

Vician’s seventh goal of the season gave the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead.

A foul by graduate defender Riley Thomas gifted Clemson a free kick, which resulted in the 1-1 equalizer scored by Clemson's Joran Gerbet. Gerbet converted off of an 18-foot free kick in the 31st minute, sneaking the ball underneath the right crossbar, just extending past the outstretched fingertips of Cordes. 

This skillful strike was just the sixth time the Heels and Cordes have surrendered a goal on the season. 

The tying goal from Gerbet seemed to rattle the Tar Heels. Clemson amped up its defensive pressure and aggressive tactics, and the formidable wall of the Tar Heels’ defense began to crumble.

But the Heels did not surrender, responding with the substitution of a defensive spark plug in junior forward Milton Jones.

The last fifteen minutes of the first period saw additional substitutions for both teams for a chance at a few pairs of fresh legs to grab the lead into the half. Even after a collection of goal kicks attempted by the Tar Heels, neither team could convert, leading to a 1-1 draw going into the locker room. 

Both teams remained calm and collected coming out of the locker room, despite the stall in offense for the first ten minutes of the second period.

With the Tar Heels in attack mode, Vician got a clean look on a cross kick in the 59th minute, but cleared the top crossbar, seemingly expecting a deflection. UNC came up empty handed from the aggressive drive.

Just a minute later, a clear shot from the middle by junior defender Charlie Harper flew above the top crossbar. This flurry of opportunities saw North Carolina fail to convert.

The Tar Heels subbed in graduate forward Ahmad Al-Qaq to energize the offense in the last third of the second period. 

A yellow card was awarded to Clemson forward Remi Okunlola, quickly replaced by a red card. The Tigers were forced to play the last 22 minutes down a man.

Clemson defender Mason Lamb tried to sneak in a soaring kick to the top right of the net from almost the center of the field, leading to an impressive save by Cordes to keep the Tigers from taking the lead with 19 minutes to go

Clemson midfielder Antonio Illuminato curled in for a shot attempt that cleared the left crossbar. On the ensuing possession, Al-Qaq took his own turn attempting a shot towards the bottom center of the net, also coming up empty.

The Tar Heels seemed to remain strong on defense until Meinhard picked up a crucial penalty on junior defender Andrew Czech with six minutes to go. 

Gerbet broke through offensively in the 83rd minute of the game on a penalty kick goal, sneaking the ball into a similar spot as his first goal, getting the ball past Cordes to the back of the right side of the net. The Tigers took a 2-1 lead with about seven minutes remaining.

The Tigers’ lead didn’t last long, as another penalty was awarded to Meinhard, leading to a penalty kick goal by junior midfielder Sam Williams.

A drive by Clemson forward Wahabu Musah led to a quick pass across the middle to Illuminato for a short pop off the right foot to steal the lead back from the Tar Heels, 3-2.

One last Hail Mary shot attempt by Martin Mai went wide, and the No. 24 Tigers defeated the Tar Heels. 

North Carolina will look to bounce back at Dorrance Field on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against the College of Charleston Cougars.

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