Clemson men’s soccer punches ticket to Sweet Sixteen

CLEMSON – Clemson men’s soccer clinched a spot in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years with a 2-0 win over the Providence Friars Sunday.

After 42 scoreless minutes in the first half, Clemson’s offense came alive when midfielder Misei Yoshizawa found forward Wahabu Musah for a goal in the bottom left corner.

With the goal, Musah scored his fifth goal of the season, making Tyler Trimnal the third-highest scorer on the team. Yoshizawa’s assist marked his third of the season and the eighth of his career.

However, Musah, a freshman, was not done for the night.

Thirty-four scoreless minutes after his first goal, Antonio Illuminato again fed Musah with another goal in the bottom left corner to increase the Tigers’ lead and secure an eventual victory.

With the second score, Musah recorded his first multi-goal game in a Clemson uniform. The native of Accra, Ghana was previously the MVP of his team at Monteverde Academy in 2022.

In his first year, Musah has scored in 25% of Clemson’s games.

Defensively, the Tigers never gave the Friars a chance to fight back.

Clemson allowed the Friars no shots on goal and just two total shots in the win. Conversely, the Tigers finished with 17 total shots, including six on goal.

With the win, Clemson improves to 13-2-5 on the season.

Now they will face the winner of No. 8 in Wake Forest and Maryland in hopes of advancing to the Elite Eight.

With a Wake Forest matchup, the Tigers could match their loss to the Demon Deacons in the ACC tournament.