2023 Clemson Tigers men's soccer team explained

The 2023 Clemson Tigers men's soccer team represented Clemson University during the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. They were led by head coach Mike Noonan, in his fourteenth season. They played their home games at Riggs Field. This was the team's 63rd season playing organized men's college soccer and their 36th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Tigers started the season with a loss to and a draw with . These results saw them fall from their preseason ranking of ninth to unranked. They followed up with non conference wins over rival and . They started conference play with a loss to Notre Dame. They would go on to win their next three games, including a conference match-up with Duke. Their first conference loss came at Wake Forest on September 22. That match would be the last match that Clemson would lose for the remainder of the season. They won three straight games before drawing at Syracuse. They would follow that with a win and a draw to close out the regular season with a 9–3–3 overall record and a 4–2–2 ACC record. They were runners up in the Atlantic Division.

The Tigers were the fourth overall seed in the ACC Tournament. They defeated fifth seed Duke in penalties in the Quarterfinals and ninth seed Louisville in the Semifinals to reach the Final. There they faced off against seventh seed North Carolina. The match finished 1–1 and Clemson prevailed in another penalty shootout to win their fifth ACC tournament title.^[1] The tournament victory earned Clemson the ACC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. There they were selected as the ninth overall seed. They defeated in the second round, eighth seed in the third round, and sixteenth seed in the Quarterfinals to reach the College Cup. A victory over fifth seed saw them reach the national title match against fellow ACC foe Notre Dame. Clemson went on to avenge their regular season loss to Notre Dame and win the title 2–1. The goal allowed in the title match was the only goal allowed by Clemson in the NCAA Tournament. The national title was the fourth in program history and second for head coach Mike Noonan. It was Clemson's second title in three years following their 2021 title.^[2]

Previous season

See main article: 2022 Clemson Tigers men's soccer team.

The Tigers finished the season 13–7–1 overall and 3–4–1 in ACC play to finish in fourth place in the Atlantic Division. As the eighth overall seed in the ACC Tournament, they defeated Notre Dame in the First Round, top seed Duke in the Quarterfinals, fourth seed Wake Forest in the Semifinals and became the lowest seed to reach the final in ACC Tournament history.^[3] They came up short in the final losing to eventual National Champion Syracuse 2–0. They received an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were awarded the sixth overall seed. After a First Round bye, they lost to UCLA in the Second Round to end their National Title defense.

Player movement

Players leaving

Players Leaving

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Trevor Manion	1	GK	6'3"	190	Junior		—
Dawson Malcolm	4	DF	6'3"	190	Freshman		—
	5	DF	6'0"	186	Junior		Selected First Overall in 2023 MLS SuperDraft
Dylan Sullivan	6	MF	5'9"	160	Senior		Graduated
Tim Ströbeck	7	FW	6'0"	165	Sophomore		Transferred to Seton Hall
Elton Chifamba	8	MF	5'9"	145	Sophomore		Transferred to Syracuse[4]
Joey Skinner	13	DF	6'2"	155	Sophomore		Selected thirteenth overall in 2023 MLS SuperDraft
Derek Waleffe	16	MF	5'11"	167	Graduate Student		Graduated
Alvaro Gomez	18	MF	5'8"	150	Senior		Graduated
MJ Petry	24	MF	6'3"	155	Freshman		—
Isaiah Ried	27	FW	5'10"	150	Senior		Graduated; Selected thirty fourth overall in 2023 MLS SuperDraft
Ben Erkens	28	DF	6'2"	180	Junior		—

Players arriving

Incoming Transfers

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Joran Gerbet	6	MF	5'11"	160	Junior		Oregon State[5]
Alex Meinhard	15	FW	6'0"	178	Senior		Tulsa
Jackson Wrobel	23	MF	5'9"	162	Junior		Wofford
Gael Gibert	27	DF	6'0"	184	Graduate Student		Oregon State

Recruiting Class

Name	Nat.	Hometown	Club	TDS Rating
				[6]
				[7]
			Albion SC	[8]
				[9]
			N/A	[10]

Squad

Roster

^[11]

Team management

Position	Staff
Athletic Director	Graham Neff
Head coach	Mike Noonan
Associate head coach	Philip Jones
Assistant Coach	Camilo Rodriguez
Assistant Coach	Malick Mbaye
Director of Operations	Rob Thompson

Source:^[12]

Schedule

Source:^{[13] [14]} |-!colspan=6 style=""| Exhibition|-!colspan=6 style=""| Regular season|-!colspan=6 style=""| ACC Tournament|-!colspan=6 style=""| NCAA Tournament

Goals Record

Rank	No.	Nat.	Po.	Name	Regular Season	ACC Tournament	NCAA Tournament	Total
1	10		MF		7	3	3	13
2	15		FW	Alex Meinhard	6	1	0	7
3	9		MF	Mohamed Seye	5	0	0	5
	17		FW	Tyler Trimnal	2	2	1	5
	25		MF	Nathan Richmond	5	0	0	5
6	11		MF	Brandon Parrish	2	0	2	4
	27		DF	Gael Gibert	2	1	1	4
8	6		DF	Joran Gerbet	3	0	0	3
	7		FW	Isaiah Easley	2	1	0	3
	30		FW	Remi Okunlola	2	1	0	3
11	2		DF		2	0	0	2
	23		MF	Jackson Worbel	2	0	0	2
	31		DF	Arthur Duquenne	1	0	1	2
14	20		DF		0	0	1	1
Opponent Own Goal					1	0	0	1
Total					42	9	9	60

Disciplinary record

Rank	No.	Nat.	Po.	Name	Regular Season			ACC Tournament			NCAA Tournament			Total
1	20		DF		2	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	1
2	2		DF		2	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	5	0	0
	3		DF		3	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
4	6		MF	Joran Gerbet	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	0
5	9		MF	Mohamed Seye	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	3	0	0
	10		MF		2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	0
	25		MF	Nathan Richmond	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
	27		DF	Gael Gibert	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	0
	33		DF	Arthur Duquenne	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	0
10	7		FW	Isaiah Easley	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	8		MF	Elton Chifamba	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	11		MF	Brandon Parrish	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	0	0
	17		FW	Tyler Trimnal	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
14	1		GK	Joseph Andema	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0
	12		DF		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	15		FW	Alex Meinhard	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	19		FW	James Kelly	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	23		MF	Jackson Worbel	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	28		DF	Will Cain	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	30		FW	Remi Okunlola	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Team					1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Total					30	0	1	7	0	0	11	0	0	48	0	1

Awards and honors

Alex Meinhard	Pre-Season Hermann Trophy Watchlist	August 24, 2023	[15]
Ousmane Sylla	Pre-Season All-ACC Team	August 26, 2023	[16]
	ACC Offensive Player of the Week	October 10, 2023	[17]
Ousmane Sylla	All-ACC First Team	November 8, 2023	[18]
Brandon Parrish	All-ACC Second Team
Joran Gerbet	All-ACC Third Team
Pape Mar Boye
Nathan Richmond
Pape Mar Boye	All-ACC Freshman Team
Ousmane Sylla	ACC Tournament MVP	November 12, 2023	[19]
Gael Gerbet	ACC All-Tournament Team
Ousmane Sylla
Joran Gerbet
Alex Meinhard
Ousmane Sylla	NCAA Tournament Offensive MVP	December 11, 223	[20]
Pape Mar Boye	NCAA Tournament Defensive MVP
Ousmane Sylla	Hermann Trophy	January 5, 2024	[21]

2024 MLS Super Draft

See main article: 2024 MLS SuperDraft.

Brandon Parrish		2	36	MF
		2	55	MF
Nathan Richmond		3	70	MF

Source:^[22]

Rankings

See main article: 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer rankings.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Clemson wins the 2023 ACC Championship over North Carolina in penalty kicks. Yahoo Sports. Alex. Turri. November 12, 2023. November 14, 2023.
2. Web site: Parrish and Sylla each score to help Clemson beat Notre Dame for program’s 4th men’s soccer title. apnews.com. Associated Press. December 11, 2023. December 12, 2023.
3. Web site: Clemson advances to ACC Men’s Soccer Final. wspa.com. Nexstar Media. November 10, 2022. November 14, 2022.
4. eltonchifamba. 1731398680488358211. December 3, 2023. I’m excited to announce that I’ve committed and will be transferring to Syracuse University to continue my athletic and academic career. I want to thank God, Coach Mac, the rest of the coaching staff, and my family. I can’t wait to get to work! Go Orange! @CuseMSOC .
5. Web site: 2023 ACC Men's Preview. topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Victor. Olorunfemi. August 17, 2023. January 12, 2024.
6. Web site: Mathieu Brick. topdrawersoccer.com. January 12, 2024.
7. Web site: Logan Brown. topdrawersoccer.com. January 12, 2024.
8. Web site: Mason Jimenez. topdrawersoccer.com. January 12, 2024.
9. Web site: Matthias Leib. topdrawersoccer.com. January 12, 2024.
10. Web site: Pape Mar Boye. topdrawersoccer.com. January 12, 2024.
11. Web site: 2023-24 Men's Soccer Roster. clemsontigers.com. Clemson University Athletics. January 12, 2024.
12. Web site: Men's Soccer Staff Directory. clemsontigers.com. Clemson University Athletic Department. January 6, 2023.
13. Web site: 2023-24 Men's Soccer Schedule. clemsontigers.com. January 12, 2024. Clemson University Athletics.
14. Web site: Clemson United Announces 2023 Schedule. clemsontigers.com. Clemson University Athletics. June 15, 2023. January 12, 2024.
15. Web site: 2023 Men's MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List Announced. United Soccer Coaches. unitedsoccercoaches.org. August 24, 2023. August 25, 2023.
16. Web site: Clemson Selected 2023 Preseason ACC Men's Soccer Favorite. theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 16, 2023. August 16, 2023.
17. Web site: Clemson’s Sylla, Syracuse’s Wickham Named ACC Men’s Soccer Players of Week. theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 10, 2023. October 10, 2023.
18. Web site: 2023 All-ACC Men’s Soccer Team Announced. theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 8, 2023. November 8, 2023.
19. Web site: Clemson Wins 2023 ACC Men’s Soccer Championship. theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 12, 2023. November 14, 2023.
20. Web site: Parrish and Sylla each score to help Clemson beat Notre Dame for program's 4th men's soccer title. apnews.com. Associated Press. December 11, 2023. December 12, 2023.
21. Web site: Clemson's Ousmane Sylla wins Hermann Trophy as college soccer player of the year. Greenville News. Scott. Keepfer. January 5, 2024. January 9, 2024.
22. Web site: Three Tigers Selected in 2024 MLS SuperDraft. theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. December 19, 2023. January 12, 2024.