Clemson Tigers Soccer loses to ACC newcomer in battle of the power programs

ACC planners wanted a major showdown to kick off conference play, and that's what they got on Friday when Clemson hosted Stanford at historic Riggs Field.

The game was the ACC opener for both teams, and the Cardinals – ranked No. 5 in the country before the game – defeated the No. 2 Tigers 3-2.

Clemson (1-1-1, 0-1-0 in ACC) scored in the first 2:25 of play to take the lead when Lukas Magnuson fired a shot into the upper right corner of the goal. Tyler Trimnal and Joran Gerbet were credited with the assist.

However, the lead did not last long. Stanford (4-1-0, 1-0-0) equalized with a penalty kick 5:20 minutes into the game when Will Reilly pushed the ball past Clemson goalkeeper Joseph Andema.

Shortly before halftime, in the 41.55 minute, Stanford took a 2-1 lead with an own goal, a terrible start for the Tigers.

From there, the Cardinals extended their lead to two goals when Cardinals' Shane de Flores fired a shot into the bottom right corner of the net in the 74th minute, off assists from Dylan Groeneveld and Jackson Kill, to increase Stanford's lead to 3-1.

Clemson quickly caught up and cut the lead to one goal when Gerbet scored an unassisted goal in the 76th minute.

But Stanford kept the lead and took the win.

Clemson had more shots on goal than Stanford (16-9), but they only had seven total shots on goal. Andema stopped three of the Cardinals' five shots, while goalie Rowan Schnebly was unable to stop any of the Tigers' shots.

Clemson led Stanford 9-5 in corner kicks but lost two possessions due to offside calls. The Cardinal had 12 fouls to the Tigers' nine, but no one was red-carded.

This was the biggest conference game to be seen on the league's opening weekend. In addition to the national rankings, the Tigers are also the defending national champions, having beaten Stanford in the NCAA tournament last year and clinching their spot in the College Cup with a 2-0 victory.

Stanford, a longtime member of the Pac-12 Conference, joined the ACC in August after the former league moved to other conferences, leaving only Oregon State and Washington State playing under the league's flag.

Clemson entered the contest having played just two non-league games. The Tigers defeated Penn State 3-0 and then played a 2-2 tie with South Carolina a week ago.

The Tigers host Loyola (MD) on Tuesday before returning to ACC action next Friday at Boston College.