The men of Tiger Town suffered a massive setback on the final day of the 2017 season, losing to Louisville at home. That loss pushed the Tigers to fifth place in the ACC and has them playing in a first round game (tonight!).

They’ll look to quickly regroup and take care of business in pursuit of returning to the ACC Tournament Final.

Clemson finished the month of October with a 3–2–0 record and went 11–4–0 overall. They had some great moments throughout the season and have real talent, but minor slip-ups cost the Tigers the first round ACC Tourney bye on their route to go back to the NCAA Tournament next month.

Here is how the regular season played out for the Clemson Tigers.

Dominant Start

The Clemson Tigers started out the year winning three home games. They moved ahead with a goal differential of +6 and only allowed two goals in those three matches.

They opened the season with a 2–0 win at home against Cal State Fullerton, followed up with a 2–1 victory against a tough Big South opponent in Radford. The Tigers finished their three-game homestand with an emphatic 4–1 win over in-state rival South Carolina.

It was a game that Clemson completely dominated, outshooting the Gamecocks 22–3 and forcing the Gamecock goalkeeper to make six saves.

With a perfect record to start the season, it looked as if things were as normal as ever for the Clemson Tigers.

Shake Up

The Tigers then took on a confident Georgia Southern team on the road and had to go into overtime to keep their perfect season alive. The Tigers took down the Eagles 2–1 in OT on Sep. 4, and then headed to Raleigh to face a good NC State squad.

An early goal by the Wolfpack was the lone dagger in the heart for Clemson as an equalizer for the Tigers just minutes after was ruled offside. Diego Campos later saw red, putting the Tigers down to ten men for the final 20 minutes of the match. The Wolfpack defense would hold and Clemson suffered their first loss of the season.

The loss in their ACC opener put the Tigers in a tough and unfamiliar position, but the team faced the storm brilliantly and bounced back in the best way possible.

Bouncing Back

The Tigers then went on a tear, winning their next four games, scoring 11 goals and only allowing one. They defeated Boston College (1–0), UCLA (3–0), and Pittsburgh (3–0) at home, and then clobbered Charlotte 4–1 to close out the homestand, moving to 8–1–0 on the year.

The Tigers looked to Jason Wright to get their goals, and their leader helped continue Clemson’s winning ways, giving them the ultimate confidence boost ahead of the biggest test of the season: a date with the number two team in the country….

Wake Forest. (They’re good.)

Setbacks

The Tigers were not up to the challenge, and they suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since 2014, losing back-to-back ACC matchups for the first time since 2013. However, their losses were not to scrub ACC teams that scrape their way into the ACC Tournament.

The Tigers lost 3–2 in double overtime on the road to #2 Wake Forest on Sep. 29 in thrilling fashion. Clemson tied things up in the final minute of the game, but the momentum couldn’t carry the Tigers to a win or draw, as Wake Forest’s Steven Echevarria scored in the 103rd minute.

In their next game on Oct. 6, a late goal by Notre Dame led to a 2–1 defeat at home against the Irish, putting the Tigers at 8–3–0 on the year and just 3–3–0 in ACC play.

Back to Winning Ways

The Tigers recovered from their back-to-back losses and righted their ship with a crushing 5–0 win over Gardner-Webb on Oct. 10. Senior Jason Wright netted a hat trick in the win, putting him at 7 goals on the year at that point.

The Tigers followed that victory with a 4–1 win on the road at Duke. Campos led the Tigers to victory there, scoring a hat trick against the Blue Devils. The performance by Campos gave him ACC Player of the Week honors and the Tigers rocketed back up to #7 in the polls. Campos scored his eight goal of the season in a 2–1 win at Syracuse on Oct. 21.

Going into the final game of the season, the team were in position to place third in the ACC and get a first round bye in the conference tournament.

The Louisville Cardinals had other plans.

Senior Night(mare)

Tim Kubel broke the hearts of Clemson fans in the 59th minute of the regular season finale, scoring the deciding goal in a 2–1 win over #4 Clemson on Senior Night, Oct. 27. Diego Campos notched his ninth goal of the season in the 38th minute, but Kubel’s strike proved to be the difference maker as the Tigers could not find an equalizer.

Now, the Tigers have to play in an opening round game in the ACC Tournament and fight with all their might to get back to the ACC Final in Charleston.

Diego Campos has been the most effective player for Clemson, scoring 9 goals and assisting on 8 others while Jason Wright has been one of the most efficient goalscorers for the Tigers. Wright has 7 goals on the year on 14 shots on goal.

The Tigers will play Syracuse for the seventh time in three years, facing off with the Orange tonight at 7 p.m. at Historic Riggs field. Should they win, they’ll move on to face Duke, a team Clemson easily defeated not three weeks ago, on November 5th at 1 p.m. in Durham.

The ACC semi-final will be played on November 8th and the ACC Championship game on Sunday, November 12th.

The NCAA Tournament, in which Clemson will still be a contender, begins later that week, with first round games on November 16th and the National Championship game will be played in Philadelphia on December 10th.