No. 4 Clemson Readies for Top 10 Match at No. 7 Wake Forest
Clemson, S.C. – The fourth-ranked Clemson men’s soccer team will take on the seventh-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons in one of the country’s premier soccer matches on Saturday night. The match will be the highest ranked match-up for either team so far this season, with the match also serving as the third conference contest for each team. Clemson leads the country in ten statistical categories, with the Tigers’ attacking force being the most potent in the country.
Match #9 Information
Who: No. 4 Clemson Tigers (8-0) at No. 7 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-1)
Where: Winton-Salem, N.C. // Spry Stadium
When: Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.
Watch live on ACCNX
Live stats available via StatBroadcast
Series Notes
· The Demon Deacons hold the series lead at 22-18-7 over the Tigers. Wake Forest has won the past four meetings in the series.
· The Demon Deacons have outshot the Tigers by a 71-65 margin over the 47 meetings.
· Clemson won the first eight matches between the two teams, with the first being on Sept. 14, 1980.
· This will be the sixth time that both teams enter the match ranked within the top 10 nationally.
· This will be the thirteenth time in Head Coach Mike Noonan’s 10 years at Clemson that he will face the Demon Deacons.
Clemson Notes
· Head Coach Mike Noonan and Associate Head Coach Phil Jones earned their 100th victory at the helm of Clemson’s program on Tuesday night with their 2-0 victory over Furman.
· Clemson sits atop the ACC, being the only 8-0 team in the conference. The Tigers are outscoring opponents by a 33-7 margin.
· George Marks, the Tigers’ top goalie, has recorded a goal’s against average (GAA) of .80 so far this season, a mark which is on pace to be the best mark for the Tigers in three years.
· The 2019 team’s 8-0 record is the best start for the program since 2006. The next milestone this year’s team will chase after is the 1978 team's 11-0 start. The best start in program history belongs to the 1973 and 1977 teams, who each started 16-0.
· The 33 goals for the Tigers through their opening eight games is the most since 1993, when that team scored 45 through eight games.
· The number four ranking for the Tigers is the highest ranking since Oct. 24, 2017, when the team was ranked 4th in the polls.
Wake Forest Notes
· Wake Forest was ranked first in the country earlier this season in the United Soccer Coaches poll. The Demon Deacons lost last week to James Madison University by a 0-1 score line.
· The Demon Deacons have played one other top 15 match this season, beating UCF 2-0. The Golden Knights were ranked 15th in the country at the time.
· Wake Forest won their first two ACC matches, beating Pitt and Syracuse.
· Wake Forest is led in scoring by Justin McMaster and Calvin Harris, each scoring three goals.
· The Demon Deacons are led by Bobby Muuss. Muuss is in his fifth season at the helm of the program.