The Clemson Tigers faced off against the No.15-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, coming off a 2-0 win against the Charlotte 49ers. Goals from Juju Harris in the 7’ and Summer Denigan in the 9’ had the score tied at one apiece after the first half. A scoreless second period would leave the game tied, 1-1, when all was said and done. Clemson is now 3-1-3 on the year, while No.15-ranked Georgia goes to 4-2-2.
Quick Start From Both Teams
The Tigers got off to a hot start against a strong Bulldogs team, thanks to yet another Juju Harris goal. The freshman continues to be a catalyst for this young Clemson team, as her quick thinking led to a Georgia turnover right outside the penalty area. Harris took a few touches into the box and fired her right-footed attempt off the shin of Georgia’s goalkeeper, Hannah Folliard, and into the back of the net to give Clemson an early 1-0 lead in the 7’.
That lead wouldn’t last long for Clemson, as two minutes and four second later, the Bulldogs were able to even the score up at one. Georgia’s midfielder, Summer Denigan, on the first shot of the game for the Bulldogs, found the back of the net on her right-footed attempt to tie the score up at one in the 9’.
Solid Half for Clemson
You could argue that Clemson outplayed Georgia through the first 45 minutes of this game. The possession for both teams was roughly the same, while Clemson had more shots and one more corner kick than the Bulldogs. The Tigers needed a strong first half to compete with the No.15-ranked team in the country and they did just that.
Slow Second Half
For most of the second half it seemed as though neither team wanted to make the crucial mistake that could give the other team the win, which led to a more boring period than the first 45 minutes. Although it was slow at times, Clemson was able to outshoot the Bulldogs 7-5 in the second half (10-6 on the night), but they couldn’t find that stroke of luck they needed to get the job done against the 15th-best team in the country. Both teams were held scoreless in the second half, leading to a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes of play.
Takeaways: Draw with No. 15 Georgia
- This is yet another strong result for Clemson and Eddie Radwanski. After winning their last two matches and drawing against a strong South Carolina team, Clemson found another good result against a ranked team. The Tigers are now 0-1-3 in games against ranked teams, which is pretty impressive considering Clemson is unranked and inexperienced. After this week’s results against Charlotte and Georgia, I would expect Clemson to jump into the top-25 of the coaches poll.
- Clemson’s youth and inexperience seems to be the bright spot in this team. Players like Juju Harris, Neely Kerr, Jolie Jenkins and Reese Klein (all freshmen) were up to the task in today’s game. Juju Harris’ steal and score in the 6’ was the only goal of the game for the Tigers and after allowing an early goal to the Bulldogs, the backline of Jenkins, Kerr and Klein shutdown Georgia’s attack the rest of the way. Clemson needs to continue to lean on their young talent, as they give problems to opposing teams.
Up Next
The Clemson Tigers will face off against the No.1-ranked Stanford Cardinal at 6:00 PM on Thursday, September 11, at Historic Riggs Field and available to watch on ACCNX.
Featured Article Image Courtesy of: Clemson Athletics
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