Clemson Tigers men's soccer

Clemson Tigers
2015 Clemson Tigers men's soccer team
University	Clemson University
Conference	ACC
Location	Clemson, SC
Head Coach	Mike Noonan (6th year)
Stadium	Historic Riggs Field (Capacity: 6,500)
Nickname	Tigers
Colors	Orange and Purple
Home Away
NCAA Tournament Champions
1984, 1987
NCAA Tournament Runner Up
1979, 2015
NCAA Tournament Semifinal
1973, 1976, 1978, 2005, 2015
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014,2015
Conference Tournament Champions
1998*, 2001*, 2014
Conference Regular Season Champions
1972*, 1973*, 1974*, 1975*, 1976*, 1977*, 1978*, 1979*, 1981*, 1982*, 1985*, 1990, 1993, 1998

The Clemson Tigers men's soccer team represent Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I soccer. The team has won 14 Atlantic Coast Conference championships, 2 NCAA national championships, and hosted 2 Hermann Trophy winners (Bruce Murray in 1987 and Wojtek Krakowiak in 1998).

History

Clemson began sponsoring a soccer team in 1934, playing a hybrid schedule of colleges and prep schools. The team was discontinued after the 1939 season. In 1967, the university decided to re-add soccer as a varsity sport. Dr. I. M. Ibrahim, who was a chemistry professor at the time, was chosen to lead the program. In the program's inaugural season, the team posted a 6–5 record. From 1967 to 1971, the Tigers posted four winning seasons overall, but were consistently in the bottom tier of the ACC.

The 1972 season proved to be a breakout year for the Tigers. The Tigers went undefeated in conference play to capture the first of eight straight ACC titles and finished the year with a 13–1–1 record and earned their first trip to the NCAA tournament. The 1973 season would prove to be even more successful, as the Tigers went 16–1 and made it to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. By the end of the decade, the Tigers had 8 conference titles, 3 trips to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament, an Elite 8 appearance, 3 Final Four appearances, and finished the 1979 season as national runners-up.

Clemson's streak of ACC titles and NCAA appearances was broken during the 1980 season, but the Tigers rebounded with conference titles during the 1981, 1982, and 1985 seasons (Clemson's last before the ACC adopted its tournament format) and 5 straight appearances in the NCAA tournament. The 1984 season saw the Tigers finally reach the summit of national prominence, as the Tigers went 22–4 against a very tough schedule and won the 1984 National Championship. During the 1984 NCAA Tournament, Clemson had to face the top four seeds in the tournament (Alabama A&M, Virginia, UCLA, and Indiana). After failing to make the NCAA tournament in 1986, the Tigers earned their 2nd National Championship during the 1987 season. The Tigers finished the 1987 regular season 13–5–1, but had struggled during conference play. Reportedly, the Tigers were the 23rd team selected for the 24-team NCAA tournament. The Tigers, however, won three straight road games, which included an upset of #1-ranked Indiana (who hadn't lost a NCAA tournament home game prior to the match), and was chosen to host the Final Four at Riggs Field. In the semifinals, the Tigers avenged two earlier losses to North Carolina and, in the championship game, knocked off San Diego State (another surprise finalist). In addition, Bruce Murray won the 1987 Hermann Trophy (the first Clemson player to win the award).

The 1990s saw the first change of head coaches in school history, as Dr. Ibrahim retired after the 1994 season and was replaced by Brown head coach Trevor Adair. The Tigers captured their first ACC Tournament championship in 1998, won 3 ACC regular season titles (1990, 1993, and 1998), and had another player honored with the Hermann Trophy (Wojtek Krakowiak, 1998). The Tigers made 6 appearances in the NCAA tournament, with their best finishes being trips to the Elite 8 in 1997 and 1998.

During the 2004 season, the Tigers captured their 2nd ACC Tournament championship and advanced to the Elite 8. After another Elite 8 run in 2002, the Tigers experienced a down time, failing to advance out of the first round in 2003 and missing the NCAA tournament altogether in 2004. The 2005 squad, however, would make a strong run during the NCAA tournament, advancing to the Final Four for the first time since the 1987 squad's national title. The 2006 team would make the round of 16, falling to eventual runner-up UCLA. This would be Clemson's most recent trip to the NCAA tournament, as the Tigers have failed to make the field of 48 since then. The 2008 squad, despite not making the tournament, was one of only two teams in the country to defeat both national champion Maryland and national runner-up North Carolina during the season. Trevor Adair resigned as head coach of the Tigers on June 16, 2009, two months after being placed on a leave of absence after reportedly assaulting his two daughters during a domestic dispute.^[1] Assistant coach Phil Hindson was promoted to interim head coach for the 2009 season, marking only the second change in head coaches in Tiger history. The Tigers struggled through the 2009 season, finishing with a final record of 6–12–1 despite a victory over national champion Virginia during the season.

On January 5, 2010, it was announced that former Brown head coach Mike Noonan was hired as Clemson's 4th head soccer coach.^[2] Since Coach Noonan took over, the Tigers have slowly risen back to prominence, returning to the NCAA tournament in 2013 and winning their 14th ACC championship in 2014. In 2015, the Tigers advanced to the finals of the NCAA College Cup for the first time since 1987, falling in the national championship match to Stanford.

Seasons

National Champions

Conference Champions*

NCAA Tournament berth^

Season	Head coach[3]	Season results[4]							Tournament results
		Overall			Conference				Conference[5][A 1]	NCAA[6][A 2]
		Wins	Losses	Ties	Wins	Losses	Ties	Finish
1934–35	Fred Kirchner	1	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
1935		2	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1936		0	0	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
1937		3	0	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
1938		0	0	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
1939		2	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1940–1966: No team
1967	I. M. Ibrahim	6	5	0	1	3	0	4th	—	—
1968		9	3	1	1	3	1	5th	—	—
1969		5	6	1	4	0	1	5th	—	—
1970		8	3	2	1	3	1	6th	—	—
1971		8	3	1	1	3	1	5th	—	—
1972*		13	1	1	5	0	0	Champion*	—	Round of 16^
1973*		16	1	0	5	0	0	Champion*	—	Final Four^
1974*		12	3	0	5	0	0	Champion*	—	Round of 16^
1975*		13	2	0	5	0	0	Champion*	—	Round of 16^
1976*		18	2	1	4	0	1	Champion*	—	Fourth Place^
1977*		16	1	0	5	0	0	Champion*	—	Quarterfinal^
1978*		18	1	1	4	0	1	Champion*	—	Third Place^
1979*		16	2	1	5	0	0	Champion*	—	Runner-Up*
1980		12	3	2	4	1	1	2nd	—	—
1981*		18	2	0	5	1	0	Champion*	—	Round of 16^
1982*		18	2	1	5	1	0	Champion*	—	Round of 16^
1983		16	3	2	3	2	1	3rd	—	First Round^
1984		22	4	0	4	2	0	2nd	—	Champion
1985*		19	3	2	5	1	0	Champion*	—	Round of 16^
1986		12	6	2	3	3	0	3rd	—	—
1987		18	5	1	1	4	1	5th	First Round	Champion
1988		10	7	2	2	4	0	5th	First Round	—
1989		13	6	1	1	4	1	5th	First Round	—
1990		16	4	1	4	1	1	1st	First Round	First Round^
1991		13	6	2	2	3	1	5th	First Round	First Round^
1992		12	6	4	1	3	2	6th	Final	—
1993		18	5	1	5	0	1	1st	Final	Round of 16^
1994		13	7	1	1	4	1	6th	Quarterfinal	—
1995	Trevor Adair	16	6	1	4	2	0	3rd	First Round	Round of 16^
1996		10	7	2	2	3	1	5th	First Round	—
1997		11	7	3	2	3	1	5th	First Round	Quarterfinal^
1998*		22	2	0	5	1	0	1st	Champion*	Quarterfinal^
1999		9	8	2	2	2	2	4th	First Round	—
2000		14	4	2	2	2	2	4th	First Round	Round of 16^
2001*		19	5	0	4	2	0	T-2nd	Champion*	Quarterfinal^
2002		13	5	4	2	3	1	6th	Quarterfinal	Quarterfinal^
2003		9	7	4	2	4	0	6th	First Round	First Round^
2004		8	9	1	2	5	0	6th	First Round	—
2005		15	6	3	2	4	2	7th	Quarterfinal	Final Four^
2006		13	5	2	3	3	2	T-5th	First Round	Round of 16^
2007		7	11	1	2	6	0	7th	First Round	—
2008		7	9	2	3	4	1	6th	First Round	—
2009	Phil Hindson	6	12	1	2	6	0	9th	Second Round	—
2010	Mike Noonan	5	8	4	2	4	2	7th	Quarterfinal	—
2011		8	8	2	4	4	0	7th	Quarterfinal	—
2012		6	9	5	3	2	3	5th	Semifinal	—
2013		11	7	3	5	4	2	T-4th	Semifinal	1st Round^
2014		12	7	3	5	2	1	T-1st Atlantic Division	Champion*	Round of 16^
2015		17	3	4	6	1	1	2nd Atlantic Division	Semifinal	Runner-Up*

1. The Atlantic Coast Conference began holding a tournament in 1987.
2. The NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship began in 1959.

Roster

As of December 12, 2015’’^[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Michael Zierhoffer 2 DF Kyle Fisher 3 DF Patrick Bunk-Andersen 4 MF Oliver Shannon 5 DF Mauriq Hill 6 MF Paul Clowes 7 MF Iman Mafi 8 FW Michele Bottari 9 FW Diego Campos 10 FW TJ Casner 11 DF Aaron Jones 12 MF Saul Chinchilla 13 MF Michael Melvin 14 MF Grayson Raynor 15 MF Alex Happi

No. Position Player 16 MF John Cajka 17 MF Thales Moreno 18 DF Tyler Rider 19 FW Kyle Murphy 20 FW Austen Burnikel 21 DF Michael Serrano 22 GK Andrew Tarbell 23 MF Johnny Heckman 24 GK Brady Allardice 25 DF Chris Heijjer 26 DF Trey Langlois 27 MF Phillip Tran 29 DF Andrew Burnikel 30 GK Nolan Lennon

Coaching staff

2015-2016 Coaching Staff^[3]

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Mike Noonan
Assistant Head Coach	Philip Jones
Assistant Coach	Liam Curran
Director of Soccer Operations	Rohan Sachdev
Athletic Trainer	Raz Razayeski
Strength & Conditioning Coach	Rick Franzblau
Student Assistant Coach	Joe Amon
Team Manager	Keith Tormey

Notable Alumni

• Oguchi Onyewu (2000-2001)
• Stuart Holden (2003-2004)
• Dane Richards (2005-2006) - Currently with Miami FC
• Thomas McNamara (2013) - Currently with New York City FC
• Amadou Dia (2011-2014) - Currently with Sporting Kansas City
• Manolo Sanchez (2012-2014) - Currently with New York Red Bulls

References

1. Kennedy, Paul (June 17, 2009). "Trevor Adair resigns as Clemson coach". College Soccer Reporter. Soccer America. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
2. Szostak, Mike (January 5, 2010). "Brown soccer coach Mike Noonan leaves for Clemson". Providence Journal. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
3. 2010 Media Guide, pp. 93
4. 2010 Media Guide, pp. 94–100
5. "2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer" (PDF). Atlantic Coast Conference. pp. 51, 58–60. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
6. "Men’s Division I Championship Brackets" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
7. "2015-2016 Men's Soccer Roster". Clemson University. Retrieved 2015-12-12.

Works cited

• Blackman, Sam (ed.). "Clemson 2010 Men's Soccer Media Guide". Clemson University. Retrieved 1 September 2011.

External links

• ClemsonTigers.com