No. 8 IU Shows Resilience in 3-2 Loss at No. 1 Clemson

Friday, August 26

Clemson, S.C.

7 p.m.

Indiana University

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Clemson

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Indiana

Clemson

No. 8 IU Shows Resilience in 3-2 Loss at No. 1 Clemson

8/26/2022 11:10:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score iums01_box.pdf

CLEMSON, S.C. – Indiana men's soccer battled back from down 2-1 to equalize, but the No. 8-ranked Hoosiers fell, 3-2, to the No. 1-ranked Clemson Tigers Friday (Aug. 26) night on Riggs Field.

"I told them to hold their heads high tonight," IU head men's soccer coach Todd Yeagley said. "They did a lot of really good things tonight in a tough environment to start the year, and we're still a young team […] trying to figure out what [are] the best combinations. The great news is that we have unbelievable opponents every game. It's not like this is our one chance to beat a top-five team."

"I know everyone in the stadium, although disappointed that we didn't win, that [was] here for IU, there's no doubt they left going, 'That team gave everything they had and did some really good things.'"

KEY MOMENTS
• 6' – Sophomore forward Samuel Sarver broke open the scoring fest just six minutes in. With relentless pressure, Sarver took advantage of a bad touch by Clemson goalkeeper Trevor Manion, dispossessing him before tucking a cool finish past.
• 12' – Six minutes later, the Tigers equalized. Junior midfielder Ousmane Sylla turned in a fabulous solo effort, finding short space between IU center backs Joey Maher and Daniel Munie to tuck a shot past junior keeper JT Harms.
• 16' – Clemson used its momentum to take its first lead after 16 minutes with another show of solo skill. Senior forward Mohamed Seye dribbled past a midfielder into open space in front of the 18-yard box, and an outside of the foot effort got around Harms at the far post.
• 27' – Redshirt senior forward Ryan Wittenbrink had two great opportunities within two minutes. His first, a 27th-minute free kick from 24 yards out, went high. Two minutes later, Wittenbrink cut in from the left wing, earned himself space, and fired but had his attempt saved by Manion.
• 45' – A hectic sequence in the final moments of the first half could have easily ended in a goal for either team. In the 44th minute, Nate Ward cleverly got in behind into a one-on-one. His shot came off the keeper, but Ward went down in the box, begging for a call. The Tigers countered end-to-end, forcing Harms off his line to save. The save came to the top of the box, where a shot was well-blocked by Bebej. IU came down the field again and found Mihalic in behind, but the sophomore forced his shot wide.
• 52' – Sophomore forward Tommy Mihalic earned a penalty after being take down in the box. Wittenbrink stepped to the spot, fired into the top corner and tied the match at 2-2.
• 55' – Three minutes after the equalizer, the Hoosiers almost went up again as Sarver had a free header from a set piece and put it on goal, but Manion was up to the task again.
• 63' – Harms made another big save to keep the match tied in the 63rd minute, keeping out a one-on-one attempt by Clemson senior forward Isaiah Reid.
• 80' – After end-to-end play, Sylla put Clemson ahead with a rocket brace past Harms.
• 87' – Sarver nearly had a late equalizer as the ball fell to him from a corner. Sarver stung one to the right post, but Manion came up with another fine save.

NOTABLES
• Indiana suffered its first loss to Clemson since 1987, a span of six undefeated matches (5-0-1) before tonight's match.
• Four Hoosiers made their IU debuts Friday night: junior goalkeeper JT Harms, senior forward Karsen Henderlong, freshman forward Luka Bezerra and sophomore midfielder Seth Stewart.
• IU's opening day record fell to 30-13-7 all-time.

UP NEXT
Indiana will get another crack at top opponents next week as the Hoosiers host four consecutive home matches versus NCAA Tournament teams. The homestand kicks off Tuesday (Aug. 30) at 8 p.m. ET when IU takes on Portland.

#GoIU