# 2021 Clemson Tigers men's soccer team

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 :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| 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 |
| Elton Chifamba MF | USA | Blacklick, OH | Columbus Crew Academy | |
| Tristan DeLoach MF | USA | Savannah, GA | Tormenta FC | |
| Adam Lundegard DF | USA | La Plata, MD | D.C. United | |
| Dawson Malcolm DF | USA | Clover, SC | Charlotte Soccer Academy | |
| Henry Suah FW | USA | Crystal, MN | Minneapolis United | N/A |
| Zack Farnsworth DF | USA | Sandy, UT | Real Monarchs SLC | N/A |
| Camilo Comi FW | ARG | Rosario, Argentina | Club Atletico Talleres | N/A |
| Tim Ströbeck FW | SWE | Hässleholm, Sweden | Hässleholms IF | N/A |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of February 10, 2022
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | George Marks |
| 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 |
| 7 | FW | SWE | Tim Ströbeck |
| 8 | MF | USA | Callum Johnson |
| 9 | MF | ESP | Mohamed Seye |
| 10 | MF | ECU | Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador |
| 11 | FW | ARG | Camilo Comi |
| 12 | DF | USA | Enrique Montana III |
| 13 | MF | USA | John Martin |
| 14 | DF | USA | Titus Sandy Jr. |
| 15 | DF | USA | Charlie Asensio |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | MF | USA | Tristan Deloach |
| 17 | MF | USA | Quinn McNeill |
| 18 | MF | ESP | Alvaro Gomez |
| 19 | MF | USA | Elton Chifamba |
| 20 | MF | USA | Brandon Parrish |
| 21 | MF | SEN | Ousmane Sylla |
| 22 | GK | USA | Trevor Manion |
| 23 | FW | USA | Josh Hallenberger |
| 25 | FW | USA | James Brighton |
| 26 | DF | USA | Jake Barron |
| 27 | DF | USA | Isaiah Reid |
| 28 | DF | USA | Adam Lundegard |
| 29 | DF | USA | Tyler Hutchinson |
| 31 | GK | USA | Giles Thaxter |
| 33 | DF | USA | Dawson Malcolm |

### Team management

| 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:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Exhibition ||||||
| August 15* 7:00 p.m. | No. 6 | Wofford | W 5–0 | – | Riggs Field Clemson, SC |
| August 21* 7:00 p.m. | No. 6 | at Georgia State | T 0–0 | — | GSU Soccer Field Atlanta, GA |
| Regular season ||||||
| August 26* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 6 | St. John's | W 2–1 | 1–0–0 | Riggs Field (0) Clemson, SC |
| August 29* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 6 | USC Upstate | W 5–0 | 2–0–0 | Riggs Field (N/A) Clemson, SC |
| September 3* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 4 | South Carolina Rivalry | W 5–0 | 3–0–0 | Riggs Field (4,524) Clemson, SC |
| September 6* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 4 | South Florida | W 3–0 | 4–0–0 | Riggs Field (1,412) Clemson, SC |
| September 10 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 2 | at NC State | W 2–0 | 5–0–0 (1–0–0) | Dail Soccer Field (1,840) Raleigh, NC |
| September 14* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 2 | Georgia Southern | W 5–0 | 6–0–0 | Riggs Field (1,232) Clemson, SC |
| September 17 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 2 | Boston College | W 3–0 | 7–0–0 (2–0–0) | Riggs Field (3,032) Clemson, SC |
| September 21* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 2 | at UNC Greensboro | L 1–3 | 7–1–0 | UNCG Soccer Stadium (569) Greensboro, NC |
| September 25 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 2 | No. 15 Pittsburgh | L 0–2 | 7–2–0 (2–1–0) | Riggs Field (2,231) Clemson, SC |
| October 1 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 19 | at Wake Forest | W 2–1 | 8–2–0 (3–1–0) | Spry Stadium (3,560) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 5* 7:00 p.m. | No. 21 | at Coastal Carolina | W 2–0 | 9–2–0 | CCU Soccer Field (858) Conway, SC |
| October 9 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN | No. 21 | Notre Dame | L 0–2 | 9–3–0 (3–2–0) | Riggs Field (1,500) Clemson, SC |
| October 15 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 23 | at No. 9 Duke | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 10–3–0 (4–2–0) | Koskinen Stadium (1,204) Durham, NC |
| October 23 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 6 | at Syracuse | L 0–2 | 10–4–0 (4–3–0) | SU Soccer Stadium (1,205) Syracuse, NY |
| October 26* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 15 | No. 17 FIU | W 4–0 | 11–4–0 | Riggs Field (1,335) Clemson, SC |
| October 29 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 15 | Louisville | W 5–1 | 12–4–0 (5–3–0) | Riggs Field (1,889) Clemson, SC |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 7 8:00 p.m., ACCN | (2) No. 9 | (7) No. 18 North Carolina Quarterfinals | W 2–1 | 13–4–0 | Riggs Field (2,351) Clemson, SC |
| November 10 7:00 p.m., ACCN | (2) No. 9 | (3) No. 11 Duke Semifinals | L 0–1 | 13–5–0 | Riggs Field (3,237) Clemson, SC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 21 7:00 p.m. | (8) No. 9 | Denver Second Round | W 1–0 $^{2OT}$ | 14–5–0 | Riggs Field (1,849) Clemson, SC |
| November 28 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | (8) No. 9 | (9) No. 15 Kentucky Third Round | W 2–1 | 15–5–0 | Riggs Field (1,793) Clemson, SC |
| December 4 9:00 p.m., P12N | (8) No. 9 | at (1) No. 1 Oregon Quarterfinals | T 1–1 (4–3 PKs) $^{2OT}$ | 15–5–1 | Wayne Valley Stadium (1,415) Corvallis, OR |
| December 10 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | (8) No. 9 | (4) No. 20 Notre Dame Semifinals | T 1–1 (5–4 PKs) $^{2OT}$ | 15–5–2 | WakeMed Soccer Park (10,132) Cary, NC |
| December 12 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | (8) No. 9 | (2) No. 3 Washington Final | W 2–0 | 16–5–2 | WakeMed Soccer Park (7,238) Cary, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## 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 |
| 3 | 9 | | MF | Mohamed Seye | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | 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 | 7 | | FW | Tim Ströbeck | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | 8 | | MF | Callum Johnson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | 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 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 42 | 2 | 7 | 51 |

## Disciplinary record

| Rank | No. | Nat. | Po. | Name | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | ACC Tournament | ACC Tournament | ACC Tournament | NCAA Tournament | NCAA Tournament | NCAA Tournament | Total | Total | 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 |
| 3 | 4 | | DF | Justin Malou | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | 15 | | DF | Charlie Asensio | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 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 |
| 7 | 9 | | FW | Mohamed Seye | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 17 | | MF | Quinn McNeill | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 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 |
| 11 | 6 | | DF | Dylan Sullivan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 10 | | MF | Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 11 | | FW | Camilo Comi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 12 | | DF | Enrique Montana III | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 20 | | MF | Brandon Parrish | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 27 | | FW | Isaiah Reid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 21 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 1 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Oskar Ågren | Preseason All-ACC Watchlist | August 18 |
| George Marks | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | August 31 |
| George Marks | 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 | November 2 |
| Oskar Ågren | All-ACC First Team | November 10 |
| Hamady Diop | All-ACC Second Team | November 10 |
| George Marks | All-ACC Second Team | November 10 |
| Ousmane Sylla | All-ACC Second Team | November 10 |
| Quinn McNeill | All-ACC Third Team | November 10 |
| Quinn McNeill | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 15 |
| Oskar Ågren | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 15 |

## 2022 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| 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 |
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| United Soccer | 6 (1) | 4 (1) | 2 (6) | 2 (5) | 2 (4) | 19 | 21 | 23 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 9 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 1 (24) |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 1 |