After just three games, West Virginia’s winning streak ended on Friday with a 3-0 loss to the Clemson Tigers.
Clemson’s three goals were the first the Mountaineers and goalkeeper Mackenzie Smith have scored this season. Smith played the full 90 minutes and had two saves in WVU’s season-opening win over Delaware. He saved all three of the team’s shots in 64 minutes, 40 seconds, against Radford.
Smith split time with 6-foot-4 redshirt sophomore Bailey Herfurth on Friday, but started all three of the Tigers’ first-half goals. Each goalie saved one shot attempt in the game, with Herfurth scoring her first of the season.
The key for Clemson in this game was an aggressive offense, with a 12-7 shot differential and a 5-2 shot advantage. West Virginia’s defense couldn’t quite keep up with the Tigers, resulting in seven Mountaineers fouls in the first half compared to four for Clemson. West Virginia finished the game with 10 fouls, four more than Clemson.
Sophomore forward Jenna Tobia was the main contributor to Clemson’s fiery offense, taking three shots, including two on goal, and scoring a goal. Freshman midfielder Kendall Bodak was also a key player, scoring her first goal of the season to get Clemson on the scoreboard before assisting Tobia on the Tigers’ second goal.
Senior defender Mackenzie Duff scored Clemson’s third goal of the night just 44 seconds after a foul by Olivia Shertzer gave Clemson’s Maria Manousos a free kick. Sophomore midfielder Dani Davis provided the assist for Duff’s goal.
While the Mountaineers’ loss was a stark contrast to their previous clean sheet victories, it wasn’t entirely unexpected on the road. Clemson entered 2024 as the No. 5 seed in the nation after reaching the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament last year. The Tigers dropped to unranked status after losing 4-0 to Auburn in their season opener, but defeated High Point University 2-0 before Friday’s game.
Clemson will play Furman on the road on Thursday and then play at Campbell on Sunday as the Tigers look to restore their reputation to start the year.
West Virginia will look to rebound with its own road game on Thursday against the Penn State Nittany Lions. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pennsylvania, and can be watched on B1G+ with ESPN+.
