The 2021 Clemson Tigers men's soccer team represented Clemson University during the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. They were led by head coach Mike Noonan, in his twelfth season. They played their home games at Riggs Field. This was the team's 61st season playing organized men's college soccer and their 34th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Tigers finished the season 16–5–2 overall and 5–3–0 in ACC play to finish in a tie for first in the Atlantic Division. As the second overall seed in the ACC Tournament, they defeated North Carolina in the Quarterfinals before losing to Duke in the Semifinals. They received an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were awarded the eight overall seed. After a First Round bye, they defeated Denver in overtime in the Second Round and Kentucky in the Third Round. In the quarterfinals, they face off against top seed Oregon State, who they defeated on penalties to advance. Penalties were required again to defeat Notre Dame in the Semifinals. In the Final Clemson defeated Washington to win their third National Title in program history.
Background
The Tigers' 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.
Player movement
Players leaving Players Leaving Max Fisher 0 GK 6'2" 190 Senior Salisbury, NC Graduated Kimarni Smith 9 FW 6'1" 160 Senior Nottingham, England Declared for 2021 MLS SuperDraft, drafted 4th overall by D.C. United. Grayson Barber 11 FW 5'9" 165 Junior Elgin, SC Signed Home Grown Player contract with Sporting Kansas City Chris Matlashewski 19 FW 6'0" 155 Sophomore Myrtle Beach, SC — Philip Mayaka 20 MF 5'7" 135 Sophomore Nairobi, Kenya Declared for 2021 MLS SuperDraft, drafted 3rd overall by the Colorado Rapids Stirling Russell 24 MF 5'11" 165 Junior Belleveue, WA Graduated Matthew Boberg 28 FW 5'5" 140 Freshman Brownsburg, IN Transferred to Boston University
Players arriving
The Tigers added seven players across two signing days, one in November and one in March.
Name Nat. Hometown Club TDS Rating Blacklick, OH Columbus Crew Academy Savannah, GA Tormenta FC La Plata, MD D.C. United Clover, SC Charlotte Soccer Academy Crystal, MN Minneapolis United N/A Sandy, UT Real Monarchs SLC N/A Rosario, Argentina Club Atletico Talleres N/A Hässleholm, Sweden Hässleholms IF N/A
Squad
Roster
Team management Athletic director Dan Radakovich Head coach Mike Noonan Associate head coach Philip Jones Assistant coach Camilo Rodriguez Director of Operations Rob Thompson
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Schedule
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!colspan=6 style=""| Exhibition
!colspan=6 style=""| Regular season
!colspan=6 style=""| ACC tournament
!colspan=6 style=""| NCAA tournament
Goals Record
Rank No. Nat. Po. Name Regular season ACC Tournament NCAA Tournament Total 1 27 FW Isaiah Reid 6 1 2 9 2 10 MF Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador 6 0 2 8 3 3 DF Oskar Ågren 4 0 1 5 9 MF Mohamed Seye 5 0 0 5 21 MF Ousmane Sylla 5 0 0 5 6 17 MF Quinn McNeill 3 1 0 4 7 5 DF Hamady Diop 3 0 0 3 7 FW Tim Ströbeck 3 0 0 3 8 MF Callum Johnson 2 0 1 3 18 MF Alvaro Gomez 2 0 1 3 11 23 FW Josh Hallenberger 2 0 0 2 12 20 MF Brandon Parrish 1 0 0 1Total 42 2 7 51
Disciplinary record
Rank No. Nat. Po. Name Regular Season ACC Tournament NCAA Tournament Total 1 5 DF Hamady Diop 3 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 5 1 0 2 8 FW Callum Johnson 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 3 3 DF Oskar Ågren 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 4 DF Justin Malou 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 15 DF Charlie Asensio 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 21 MF Ousmane Sylla 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 7 1 GK George Marks 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 9 FW Mohamed Seye 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 17 MF Quinn McNeill 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 19 MF Elton Chifamba 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 11 2 DF Ben Erkens 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 DF Dylan Sullivan 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 10 MF Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 11 FW Camilo Comi 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 12 DF Enrique Montana III 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 20 MF Brandon Parrish 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 27 FW Isaiah Reid 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0Total 211120012003511
Awards and honors Oskar Ågren Preseason All-ACC Watchlist August 18 George Marks ACC Defensive Player of the Week August 31 ACC Defensive Player of the Week September 14 Charlie Asensio ACC Defensive Player of the Week October 5 Quinn McNeill ACC Offensive Player of the Week November 2 Oskar Ågren ACC Co-defensive Player of the Week Oskar Ågren All-ACC First Team November 10 Hamady Diop All-ACC Second Team George Marks Ousmane Sylla Quinn McNeill All-ACC Third Team Quinn McNeill ACC All-Tournament Team November 15 Oskar Ågren
2022 MLS Super Draft
Oskar Ågren San Jose Earthquakes 1 13 DF Charlie Asensio Austin FC 2 35 DF Callum Johnson LA Galaxy 2 42 MF Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador Vancouver Whitecaps 2 44 MF George Marks Charlotte FC 3 57 GK John Martin San Jose Earthquakes 3 64 MF
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Rankings
References