Four goals in the first half were the catalyst for Clemson Tigers’ domination on Friday night, defeating the Syracuse Orange by a score of 6-1 at Historic Riggs Field.
The floodgates opened for the Tigers following a red card from Syracuse’s Michael Acquah in the 15th minute. Clemson was up 1-0 at that point and added three more in the half before finishing out the half with a 4-1 lead.
Alex Meinhard added three goals in the first half, becoming the first Tiger to score a hat trick since Ousmane Sylla almost a year ago on Oct. 20, 2023. He scored his first in the second minute, taking advantage of a fast break and sliding a low shot past Tomas Hut. The second came off of a Joran Gerbet corner, putting a foot on the ball in front of the goal in the 30th minute.
Three minutes later, Gerbet slid a through ball to his feet, and the graduate forward put his third past Hut for his first collegiate hat trick. It was his eighth goal of the season, which is a team-high.
Gerbet recorded three assists on Friday night, recording his eight assist of the game as well and his 16th point this season. After coming back for the first time in two weeks after a hamstring injury, the senior made his mark immediately.
Wahabu Musah added the second goal in the first half, finishing a one-time shot from a Remi Okunlola cross to record his fourth goal of the season in the 25th minute. Okunlola adds his fourth assist of the season as well.
In the second half, the Tigers added two more from a Tyler Trimnal header and an Antonio Iluminato left-footed finish early, and controlled the possession for the rest of the game until full time. Misei Yoshizawa and Arthur Duquenne, respectively, recorded the assists.
When his team scores five goals in a game, head coach Mike Noonan is undefeated, winning 19 games in a row when his team surpasses that amount.
Syracuse’s only goal came in the 36th minute off of a penalty, where Ezra Widman would be able to put it past goalkeeper Joseph Andema to prevent the clean sheet.
The Tigers outscored the Orange 16-5 in the contest, finding nine corners while Syracuse could only find two.
Next up for the Tigers, they will remain at home for the final home game of the season, where they will face Wofford on Senior Day at 7 pm at Historic Riggs Field.
