NCAA Men’s College Cup Semifinal Notes: Clemson vs. Syracuse

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Via Syracuse Unviersity) – No. 6 Syracuse and No. 3 Clemson will meet for the third time this season, this time with a spot in the national championship match on the line, on Friday, Dec. 11 at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The first semifinal of the College Cup is set for 6 p.m. Eastern time.

Fans can watch the match on ESPNU and ESPN3.

+Read: Akron set to face Stanford in NCAA Men’s College Cup semifinals

SCOUTING THE ORANGE (16-5-3)
Syracuse is making its first appearance in the College Cup. The Orange is the No. 6 seed in the Tournament and earned a first-round bye. Syracuse defeated Dartmouth, 2-1, in the second round before taking down 11th-seed Seattle, 3-1, in the third round. The Orange took on ACC foe Boston College in the quarterfinals last weekend. JuniorBen Polk scored off a corner kick in the 79th minute. It was the only goal Syracuse needed in a 1-0 victory.

Polk now leads the team in scoring with 28 points. His 12 goals also lead the squad and tie him for 10th on Syracuse’s single-season record list. Redshirt junior Liam Callahanassisted on Polk’s game-winner against Boston College. It was his third assist in the past two matches. He ranks second on the squad in assists with a career-high nine.

SCOUTING CLEMSON
Clemson, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, advanced to the College Cup by winning a penalty kick shootout, 3-1, against Maryland in the quarterfinals. The Tigers enter Friday’s match with a 17-2-3 record.  T.J. Casner leads a balanced off offense for the Tigers with 24 points (10g, 4a). In addition, Kyle Murphy has 20 points (8g, 4a) as seven players have 10 or more points this season. Goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell has a 0.79 goals-against average and an .806 save percentage this season. The Tigers defense features two MAC Hermann semifinalists in defender Kyle Fisher and midfielder Paul Clowes.

THE SERIES
Syracuse and Clemson will meet for the fifth time overall and third this season on Friday. The teams have split the two matches this season, giving the Orange a 3-1 advantage in the series. The teams met on Oct. 17 at the SU Soccer Stadium. The squads were tied at 0-0 going into the final minute, but the Tigers scored on a breakaway to record a 1-0 victory. The rematch took a place in the ACC Tournament semifinals at Riggs Field. Junior Ben Polk scored in each half to lead Syracuse to a 2-0 victory.

UP NEXT…
The winner of the Syracuse-Clemson match will face the winner of the second semifinal between Akron and Stanford for the national title on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.