While the Clemson soccer drew the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, the Tigers lost 7-6 on penalty kicks in the ACC Championship.
The Tigers had the chance to win the trophy in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history, taking an early lead in the 20th minute. 19 minutes later Wake responded and that is how the game would remain for the rest of the contest.
Freshman Lukas Magnason scored the opening goal of the game from a Clemson corner kick. The ball was played in by fellow freshman Ransford Gyan and found the head of defender Adam Lundegard. Despite the ball finding the leg of Demon Deacon goalkeeper Trace Alphin, Magnason finished the rebound to put the team up.
A few minutes before half, Wake found an opportunity from winger Nico Rabiu, who slotted a low shot past Clemson goalkeeper Patrick Donovan to equalize. Rabiu scored his first collegiate goal with the shot, coming at the perfect time for the Demon Deacons.
Despite nine shots being fired among both teams in the two 10-minute periods of extra time, which had a golden goal rule, no goals were scored, going to penalties. The closest chance came from Clemson, who had Gyan receive a cross in front of the goal but pushed the shot over the crossbar.
In the shootout, Clemson would get the first advantage, with Donovan saving Wake’s fourth shot of the shootout. However, the team missed its fourth shot directly after and the final shot sailed over the ball, giving the Demon Deacons their first ACC title since 2008.
Clemson will now await its destiny tomorrow afternoon, where the NCAA Soccer Selection show will take place on Monday at 1:00 p.m. The Tigers are likely to take a high seed and host a game, which would occur later next week.
