Following Miami Soccer’s smash-and-grab victory versus NC State last Sunday, Ken Masuhr’s Canes entered this fixture against Clemson with both a momentum and a desire to establish themselves as a top-rung ACC team.
Miami’s triumphs against SMU and NC State placed their ACC record at 2-1 heading into this game, making Miami’s win-loss ratio already an improvement on last season’s 1-7-2 conference record. Clemson, meanwhile, traveled to Coral Gables fresh off a 2-0 win against Syracuse.
Both sides momentum was clear as they traded goals before the Hurricanes fell to Clemson 3-2.
The game began with instances of solid ball movement by both teams, although Clemson found most of the joy going forward, particularly by exploiting spaces behind Miami’s fullbacks. The Tigers’ attacks compounded to produce a defensive mistake by Miami in the 20th minute, causing a penalty after video review, which they tucked away neatly.
Masuhr’s following decision to substitute on Teegan Melenhorst, who had previously been away with Canada’s U20 national team, led to a sequence of Miami onslaughts on the Tigers’ backline.
A tidy ball down the line by Melenhorst found the feet of Amanda Peck, who deftly shifted it inside to Kambryl Armstrong, who forced the Clemson centre-half into giving the Canes a corner. Ciara Alarcon proceeded to whip an inswinger into the six-yard-box, producing a scramble around the keeper and allowing Crosby Nicholson to tap the ball in for a Hurricanes equalizer.
Only a few minutes later, a Miami free kick found the feet of Melenhorst outside the opposition’s 18-yard-box, wherefrom she took an exceptional touch and finish into the bottom left corner, giving the Canes the lead on the verge of half-time.
However, as the second half resumed, Clemson once again came firing out the gate, eventually forcing another defensive mistake from Miami, which allowed Natalie Brooks to fire an uncontested shot into the center of the goal, putting the game back on level terms.
Only four minutes later, a Tigers long throw led to a sequence of headers within the Miami box, and the Hurricanes lack of diligence to clear their lines caused the ball to fall sweetly onto Taylor Leib’s left foot, letting her strike the ball past Atlee Olofson, giving the Tigers the lead once again.
The swings of momentum that had characterized the match soon lulled into a drawn-out defensive performance from Clemson, allowing them to close out the game with the advantage, giving Miami their second loss of the ACC season.
While Miami’s improved offensive firepower was once again displayed, a plethora of mistakes within the box led to hard-to-miss chances for Clemson, providing them with a fortuitous victory over the Hurricanes.
It is now on the shoulders of Masuhr and the Canes to clean up their defensive solidity as they prepare to visit Pittsburgh, whose 0-3 conference record bodes well for Miami.
The game will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7:00 p.m. EST.