The 2020 Clemson Tigers men's soccer team represented Clemson University during the 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Tigers were led by head coach Mike Noonan, in his eleventh season. They played home games at Riggs Field. This was the team's 60th season playing organized men's college soccer and their 33rd playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The teams' 2020 season was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which curtailed the fall season and caused the NCAA Tournament to be played in spring 2021. The ACC was one of the only two conferences in men's soccer to play in the fall of 2020. The ACC also held a mini-season during the spring of 2021.
The Tigers finished the fall season 8–2–1 and 3–2–1 in ACC play to finish in third place in the North Division. They won the ACC Tournament by defeating Virginia Tech, Virginia and Pittsburgh in the final. They finished the spring season 4–1–1 and 4–1–1 in ACC play, to finish in first place in the Atlantic Division. They received the ACC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Pittsburgh in a game for the bid. As the first seed in the tournament, they defeated American in the Second Round before losing to Marshall in the Third Round on penalty kicks to end their season.
Background
The 2019 Clemson men's soccer team finished the season with a 18–2–2 overall record and a 6–1–1 ACC record. The Tigers won the Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division, and were seeded first–overall in the 2019 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament. They defeated Notre Dame and Pittsburgh before falling to Virginia in the final. The Tigers received an at-large bid to the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. Seeded second-overall, they defeated Charlotte and Providence before losing to Stanford in the Quarterfinals.
At the end of the season, three Tigers men's soccer players wer selected in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft: Robbie Robinson, Tanner Dieterich, and Malick Mbaye.
Player movement
Players leaving Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Daniel Kuzemka 1 GK 6'1" 185 Sophomore Clifton, Virginia Transferred to Charlotte Judson Burns 2 DF 5'8" 165 Freshman Argyle, Texas Transferred to SMU Malick Mbaye 5 DF 6'0" 168 Senior Dakar, Senegal Drafted 33rd overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC Tanner Dieterich 6 DF 6'0" 170 Senior Nashville, Tennessee Drafted 28th overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft by Nashville SC Robbie Robinson 7 FW 6'2" 170 Junior Camden, South Carolina Drafted 1st overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft by Inter Miami Adrian Nunez 10 FW 5'7" 150 Senior San José, Costa Rica Graduated Adam Yorke 12 FW 6'1" 175 Freshman Redondo Beach, California Cale Thorne 16 MF 6'0" 193 Junior Baltimore, Maryland Graduated Izzy Garcia-Perez 21 FW 5'9" 157 Freshman Asheville, North Carolina Nolan Lennon 22 GK 6'2" 190 Senior Piedmont, South Carolina Graduated Sindri Björnsson 23 MF 6'1" 180 Junior Brieðholt, Iceland Transferred to Villanova Nate Hall 28 FW 5'4" 145 Junior Baltimore, Maryland Graduated
Players arriving
Name Nat. Hometown Club TDS Rating Dakar, Senegal Montverde Academy Greenville, SC Carolina Elite Soccer Academy Perland, TX Houston Dynamo Phoenixville, PA Penn Fusion SA Fairview, TN Darlington Academy Matthews, NC Charlotte Soccer Academy Dakar, Senegal Montverde Academy Frisco, TX FC Dallas Academy
Squad
Roster Updated March 21, 2021
Prior to the season, George Marks and James Brighton were named co-captains of the team.
Team management Position Staff Athletic Director Dan Radakovich Head coach Mike Noonan Associate head coach Philip Jones Assistant Coach Camilo Rodriguez Director of Operations Rob Thompson
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Schedule
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!colspan=8 style=""| Fall Exhibition
!colspan=7 style=""| Fall Regular season
!colspan=7 style=""| ACC Tournament
!colspan=7 style=""| Spring Exhibition
!colspan=7 style=""| Spring Regular season
!colspan=7 style=""| NCAA Automatic Bid Play-In
!colspan=7 style=""| NCAA Tournament
Goals Record
Rank No. Nat. Po. Name Regular season ACC Tournament NCAA Tournament Total 1 9 FW Kimarni Smith 4 4 0 8 2 25 FW James Brighton 3 2 1 6 3 16 MF Callum Johnson 4 0 1 5 4 14 MF Mohamed Seye 2 1 1 4 5 5 DF Hamady Diop 2 0 0 2 10 MF Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador 1 1 0 2 11 FW Grayson Barber 2 0 0 2 17 MF Quinn McNeill 1 1 0 2 27 DF Isaiah Reid 1 1 0 2 10 4 DF Justin Malou 1 0 0 1 21 MF Ousmane Sylla 1 0 0 1Total 22 10 3 35
Disciplinary record
Rank No. Nat. Po. Name Regular Season ACC Tournament NCAA Tournament Total 1 3 DF Oskar Ågren 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 2 10 MF Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 14 FW Mohamed Seye 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 0 4 11 FW Grayson Barber 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 20 MF Philip Mayaka 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 6 8 MF Callum Johnson 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 17 MF Quinn McNeill 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 24 MF Stirling Russell 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 9 4 DF Justin Malou 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 5 DF Hamady Diop 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 9 FW Kimarni Smith 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 13 MF John Martin 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 15 DF Charlie Asensio 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 21 MF Osmane Sylla 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 27 DF Isaiah Reid 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 29 FW Brandon Parrish 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0Total 21106004003110
Awards and honors Mohamed Seye Co-offensive Player of the Week October 5, 2020 Kimarni Smith Co-offensive Player of the Week October 19, 2020 George Marks Defensive Player of the Week Grayson Barber Co-offensive Player of the Week October 26, 2020 Oskar Ågren Defensive Player of the Week Kimarni Smith All-ACC Tournament Team November 22, 2020 Justin Malou Grayson Barber Philip Mayaka Kimarni Smith ACC Tournament MVP Justin Malou MAC Hermann Trophy Watchlist January 28, 2021 Kimarni Smith Grayson Barber All ACC First-Team April 14, 2021 Philip Mayaka Kimarni Smith Oskar Ågren All ACC Second-Team Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador All ACC Third-Team Justin Malou George Marks Hamady Diop All ACC Rookie Team Ousmane Sylla
2021 MLS Super Draft
Philip Mayaka Colorado Rapids 1 3 MF Kimarni Smith D.C. United 1 4 FW Justin Malou Columbus Crew 1 27 DF
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Rankings
Fall 2020
+ Ranking movementLegend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. Poll Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Final United Soccer 2 3 3 3 3 5 4 2 1
Spring 2021
+ Ranking movementLegend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. PollPre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Final United Soccer None Released 1 (16) 1 (23) 1 (19) 1 (24) 1 (23) 3 (4) 4 (1) 1 (21) None Released 7 TopDrawer Soccer 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 5 1 1 9 9
References