Lukas Magnasson spotted in post match stretches with boot on left foot
The No.2 Overall Clemson United (3-1-1) were handed a shocking loss by the VCU Rams (2-3-1) 2-1 on Tuesday evening with Wahabu Musah, Andrey Salmeron and Mohammed Ibrahim all finding the net.
The opening stages were cagey, as both sides worked to settle into rhythm. Clemson dominated possession, keeping the ball in VCU’s half for much of the first 45 minutes. Entering the night, the Tigers boasted 15 goals scored and a +10 goal differential, while VCU had already conceded 11 goals. It looked like only a matter of time before the breakthrough.
That breakthrough nearly arrived in the 19th minute when Arthur Duquenne unleashed a 30-yard hail mary strike that rattled the crossbar, deflected off the goalkeeper, and fell for a VCU clearance.
VCU were aggressive with their tackles and hanging on in this game throughout the first half which must have been just what the VCU coach ordered and about as much as you can ask for against the number 2 ranked team in the country. The Tigers began to grow frustrated with back to back yellow cards for Floki Stephenson and Mason Jimenez.
The deadlock was finally broke in the 40th minute as the second free kick from VCU came off the Clemson wall and led to a fast breakaway for the Tigers. The numbers flooded forward and it was a 3 on 1 with Musah having the option to either take it to goal himself or square it to the center. He chose the first of the two and slotted the ball into the bottom left hand corner. 1-0 Tigers.
From minute 40 to minute 45 The Tigers had the most control of the game out of the whole 90 minutes with fast tempo passing and opportunities much like what we saw against Pittsburgh last week.
Clemson however went back to their slow style of play that they started the game off with in the second half, except this time they paid for it. In the 50th minute Deniss Hayes led the Rams on a counter attack, getting behind the defense with his blistering pace, he than squared the ball into Andrey Salmeron who cut in onto his left foot and trickled the ball through the legs of one defender and past Joseph Andema into the middle right of the net. Unfortunate break for the Tigers, but they had it coming. 1-1 ball game.
Things went from bad to even worse for United as Freshman Daniel Bunk slipped on the turf with possession of the ball in his own box leading to a trailing Mohammed Ibrahim to pounce, he cut in on his left, dribbled around Joseph Andema and slotted it into an empty goal for the Rams, marking Ibrahim’s second of the season. 2-1 VCU
Despite this, Clemson were still racking up chances and a goal seemed to be looming. In the 75th minute Wahabu Musah had a 1 on 1 with goalkeeper Trevor Maloney who made a brilliant stop to his right side. On the rebound from outside of the box was Gabriel Santuari who hit the crossbar with what would have been his first goal of the season and a stunner.
Time kept ticking and despite United dominating in the attacking game late on, the clock was against them and they did not have a response. Game. Set. Match. 2-1 Rams.
Clemson’s schedule has trap games set up amongst the whole season however this was not supposed to be one of them. The presence of Lukas Magnasson was missed hard this game for United with his lack of experience at the back being a crucial asset for Clemson. The Tigers outshot the Rams 14-6 and had 12 corners against VCU’s one.
Clemson will be back in action against SMU on Saturday in Dallas Texas at 8:00 P.M.
Notable Statistics
This marks the biggest ever win in VCU’s soccer history, their previous highest ranked win was a 5-2 win at No.5 North Carolina in 2004.
The Tigers and Mike Noonan now have a 158-14-16 record when scoring the first goal of the game.
Mike Noonan is now 114-6-8 while leading at half time.
Injuries
Lukas Magnasson was spotted in the crowd alongside 4 other of his teammates in a walking boot.
Wahabu Musah came on late in the first half and looked like he shook off the injury he had in the Pitt game.
Cautions and Suspensions
VCU Yellow Card Coni Camillo ‘31
CLU Yellow Card Floki Stephenson ‘38
CLU Yellow Card Mason Jimenez ‘40
VCU Yellow Card Andres Rodriguez ‘83
VCU Yellow Card HC Dave Gifford ‘89
