LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Shawn Smart scored his second goal of the season, Joseph Andema recorded his fourth straight shutout of the NCAA Tournament and No. 9 seed Clemson advanced to its sixth national championship match in school history with a 1-0 victory over No. 5 West Virginia on Friday night.
Clemson (14-3-5) has reached the championship game for the second time in three seasons — after winning the trophy in 2021. Last Saturday, the Tigers downed Stanford 2-0 to earn the program’s 10th College Cup appearance.
The Tigers are outscoring their opponents 7-0 in the NCAA Tournament — with goals from six different players. Clemson has also scored in the first half of each tournament game.
Smart scored in the 37th minute. The Tigers took advantage of a turnover deep in West Virginia territory as Smart passed it to Mohamed Seye, who headed it back for a half-volley finish inside the near post.
Clemson’s next shot came in the 65th minute and was easily stopped by West Virginia goalkeeper Jackson Lee. The Tigers put five shots on goal, and surrendered just two against the Mountaineers in the teams’ first meeting since 1974.
The Tigers’ 58 goals lead the nation.
West Virginia (17-3-4) earned its first trip to the College Cup after a win over Loyola Marymount that saw three goals in the first 15 minutes.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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