LOUISVILLE, KY - What a game! I froze my tail off up here after enjoying temperatures in the 70's over the weekend, but it was worth it! The Tigers struck first with a scintillating goal by senior captain Brandon Parrish, whose hometown of Nashville is just a couple hours away, with 18:16 left in the first half. He also prevented the tying goal with a half-bicycle on the goal line after a Notre Dame corner kick. The Irish had a big crowd advantage, being so much closer to Indiana than Clemson, and they came out swinging in the second half with three near misses in a row, including a shot that hit the crossbar. All-American Ousmane Sylla put the game out of reach with his 13th goal of the season on a tremendous assist from Meinhard, putting the Tigers up 2-0 with 20 minutes left. With less than a minute left and the celebration already underway, Notre Dame spoiled the Tigers' run of shutouts, breaching the Tigers' net for the first time in the tournament. That didn't put a damper on the celebration, though! The Tigers remained undefeated this season when scoring first at 11-0-1.
Mike Noonan claimed his second national title in three years, having made 3 national championship appearances in 9 years, and the Tigers will add a fourth star to the crest! Clemson is truly one of the all-time blue-blood programs. The men's soccer program now has one more national title than the football program, but Noonan and Dabo have each won two. I asked Noonan after the game if the race is on with Dabo for national title No.3!
Post-game interviews and celebration videos are below!
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