The Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women’s Soccer tournament saw a 1-1 draw between the Clemson Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs after 110 minutes of soccer. Ultimately, the Tigers moved on in a penalty shootout by a score of 5-3. This win marks the seventh time in program history that the Clemson women’s soccer team has advanced to the Quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
The match had a slow start, with just five shots recorded in the first half for both teams. However, the pace picked up significantly in the second half, with 13 shots, 10 of which were from the Tigers.
“We made a little bit of a tactical adjustment to try and change some angles and we felt like we could create some more opportunities,” said head coach Eddie Radwanski. “It’s the NCAA tournament […], there’s good teams out there. It’s hard to dominate, it’s hard to take control all the time. […] it’s almost a chess match. So I’m not so concerned about the number of opportunities, it’s about the quality of them”
Eddie Radwanski
Despite dominating opportunities, Georgia was the first to score, breaking the deadlock in the 84th minute with a shot that ricocheted through the Clemson defense.
With this goal the Bulldogs were poised to end the Tigers’ season, leading 1-0 late in the game. However, Sydney Minarik, in the 88th minute, launched a long ball over the Bulldog’s defense and found Megan Bornkamp making a run behind the defense. Bornkamp flicked the ball over the head of the keeper and then knocked it into the back of the net, securing the equalizer for the Tigers.
“Great response with our team conceding a goal so late. Well done on Georgia’s part to score and take the lead. You know you’re thinking ‘oh my there’s six minutes left to go,’ and you just saw what the Clemson Tigers are about. They didn’t give up, they dug down, reached deep inside and found a way to make it happen. Getting that tying goal was fantastic.”
Eddie Radwanski
The game continued into extra time, with both teams having numerous chances to secure a decisive goal, but with solid goalkeeping and shots off-target the score remained level.
As the game headed to penalties, the Clemson Women’s soccer team, who hadn’t faced a shootout all year, didn’t flinch. With ACC goalkeeper of the year Halle Mackiewicz in the net, the Tigers went 5-5 on penalty attempts. Mackiewicz’s crucial save came on the Bulldogs’ fourth penalty, denying Croix Bethune, the scorer of the earlier goal for the Bulldogs, and advancing the Tigers to the elite eight.
“We work on these, this is something that we train. So I felt pretty confident we were ready and we have the best goalkeeper in the country. I knew she was going to make a save or two and she did.”
Eddie Radwanski.
Looking ahead, the Tigers aim to make history by becoming the first team in program history to advance to the college cup. Their only thing standing in their way is the No.2 seed Penn State Nittany Lions. The game is set to take place at Historic Riggs Field on Saturday, Nov. 25, with kickoff at 1 pm.
