The Gamecocks women's soccer team made history on Thursday night, defeating the No. 24 ranked Clemson Tigers and achieving its first win against them since 2018. The match set a Stone Stadium all-time attendance record with 7,004.
The first half was a very evenly matched competition, and South Carolina early on established themselves as composed and confident in buildup against Clemson's defensive pressure. They won an early corner kick and senior forward Maryn Wolf had a shot inside the first ten minutes.
After a strong start from the Gamecocks, Clemson grew into the game, forced turnovers, began creating chances and switching play to unbalance the Gamecock defense. The Tigers had five first half shots after Wolf's early effort.
In the second half, the Gamecock offense came to life, starting with a shot by senior defender Reagan Schubach driving forward from deep in in the 53rd minute. Seven minutes later, senior forward Sydney Middaugh broke through against the Tiger back line and put a shot just wide.
Clemson continued to switch and found danger in wide areas and played through sophomore forward Juju Harris, who replied to South Carolina's attacking wave with a chance of her own saved by senior goalkeeper Christina Tsaousis in the 63rd minute.
Graduate student forward Emilie Castagna responded for the Gamecocks halfway through the 64th minute with a shot that was saved by Clemson graduate student goalkeeper Nona Reason.
Juju Harris continued to lead the charge for the Tigers, putting a free kick on target and forcing a parry from Tsaousis. The ball then fell to another Tiger in senior midfielder Christian Brathwaite, but she missed over the crossbar.
After weathering the storm, South Carolina got its breakthrough in the 83rd minute. Middaugh drove down the left wing, drew defensive attention and rolled it across the penalty area to late arriving senior midfielder Cuyler Zulauf, who side-footed it into the bottom right corner.
The Gamecocks then dug deep to defend a late push for an equalizer from the Tigers, with Clemson's best look after the goal being a blocked shot from senior midfielder Gabby Hoschek.
Tactics Board
Clemson approached the game defensively with a more standard 4-2-3-1 formation where sometimes the attacking midfielder would step out and make a 4-4-2 to try and apply pressure on the Gamecocks. On offense, the Tigers started with the 4-2-3-1, on occasion bringing the right back into midfield to try and control the center, then in the second half changed to a 4-3-3 with high and wide full backs to attack the space on the outside more effectively.
South Carolina approached with a 4-4-2 diamond on the ball, giving the four midfielders some freedom to interchange and interpret the game, which helped the team play through Clemson's defensive structure and find space to attack in the final third. Middaugh was a reliable outlet running in behind the Clemson back line in the striker position, which helped as well.
Defensively, the Gamecocks stayed in the 4-4-2 diamond, and in moments chose to shift to aggressive player-for-player marking when Clemson had the ball closer to the sidelines in early buildup. This approach trapped the Tigers and forced riskier decisions and turnovers.
It Means More
Head coach Shelley Smith said the win meant most for the team's seniors.
"We talked about it before the game, these seniors hadn't beaten Clemson and really wanted to," Smith said. "They will not forget this night."
Whats Next?
South Carolina will face Furman at Stone Stadium on Aug. 23 at 6 p.m.