Syracuse (4-5-1) was looking for its first ACC victory in women’s soccer Thursday night against Clemson (5-2-2), but they would be denied in a 1-0 loss to the Tigers. The Tigers also snapped SU’s five-game home win-streak.
“Clemson’s a very athletic team, I can’t take anything away from them,” head coach Phil Wheddon said. “They had a game plan, they put us under a lot of pressure and we didn’t cope with it.”
The Tigers dominated possession throughout the contest. Clemson came out with a strong defense and a great passing attack, as the Tigers moved the ball up the field through the SU defense with ease. The Orange also struggled to control the ball and spent most of the game on the defensive.
“We just couldn’t connect from the midfield or the backs, and it was just hard getting it up the field. I felt like we were in our own half most of the game,” forward Erin Simon [10] said
Clemson controlled the ball as well as shots; limiting SU to two shots in the whole game, and none in the first half. The first shot on goal by the Orange didn’t come until more than halfway through the second half.
Clemson scored the only goal of the game in the 30th minute, when there was, “ a breakdown of communication between the left back and the goalkeeper,” Wheddon said.
“I had called ‘keeper’ and my defender charged, I was kind of put off and the second you take your eye off your ball…it was a stupid mistake” goalkeeper Brittany Anghel [11] said.
Clemson’s Katelyn Reeve crossed the ball into the middle of the box where Kylie Tawney was tracking it, one-on-one with SU defender Maddie Iozzi [12]. Anghel and Iozzi had some sort of lapse in communication and the ball sailed past Iozzi and over Anghel leaving it for Tawney to put away the sole score of the game.
“I think we scored on ourselves, so I would say we beat ourselves,” Wheddon said.
The second half was no better than the first, other than the fact that the SU defense was able to contain any further bleeding. The Orange continued to struggle possessing and passing and were only able to get off a couple shots on net. Besides a few minor scoring opportunities the Tigers were able to control the majority of play. SU even had two free kicks in the final ten minutes but the Clemson defense was able to lock down and seal the win.
“I thought we were terrible from start to finish,” Wheddon said. “We went from playing a game that was organized and disciplined on Sunday and on last Thursday to playing as individuals and not connecting passes and not being disciplined so we’ve got to rectify that.”
This was the first home loss for Syracuse this year, effectively ending their undefeated at home record, and they have yet to find that elusive first ACC win. SU takes on Wake Forrest on Sept. 29 at 12 p.m.
