After just three matches, West Virginia’s undefeated streak has come to a close with a 3-0 loss to the Clemson Tigers on Friday.
Clemson’s three goals were the first scored on the Mountaineers and goalie Mackenzie Smith this season. Smith played all 90 minutes and recorded two saves in WVU’s season-opening win over Delaware and recorded all three of the team’s saves in 64:40 against Radford.
Smith split time evenly on Friday with 6-foot redshirt sophomore Bailey Herfurth but was at the net for all three of the Tigers’ first-half goals. Each goalie saved one shot attempt in the game, with Herfurth recording her first of the season.
Aggressive offense was the key for Clemson in the match, with a 12-7 shot disparity and 5-2 shots on goal advantage. West Virginia’s defense could not quite keep up with Tigers, leading to seven Mountaineer fouls in the first half compared to Clemson’s four. West Virginia finished the match with 10 fouls, four more than Clemson, in the game.
Sophomore forward Jenna Tobia ran the show in Clemson’s fiery offense, taking three shots, including two shots on goal, and scoring once. Freshman midfielder Kendall Bodak was a key contributor as well, scoring her first goal of the season to get Clemson on the board before assisting Tobia on the Tigers’ second goal.
Senior defender Mackenzie Duff scored Clemson’s third goal of the evening just 44 seconds after an Olivia Shertzer foul gave Clemson’s Maria Manousos a free kick. Sophomore midfielder Dani Davis gave Duff the assist on the goal.
The Mountaineers’ loss, while in strong contrast to their previous shutout victories, was not entirely unexpected on the road. Clemson entered 2024 ranked No. 5 in the nation after making the NCAA Tournament Semifinal last year. The Tigers fell to an unranked status after dropping 4-0 to Auburn in their season opener but defeated High Point University 2-0 before Friday’s match.
Clemson will go on the road to play Furman on Thursday followed by a Sunday match at Campbell as the Tigers look to regain their reputation early in the year.
West Virginia will try to bounce back with its own Thursday away match against the Penn State Nittany Lions. The match will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pa. and can be viewed on B1G+ with ESPN+.
