The Clemson women’s soccer team defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores, 1-0, Friday at Historic Riggs field to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Senior Patrice Dipasquale made the game-winning goal in an overtime shootout after the Tigers and Commodores went scoreless in regulation and double overtime.
“All the credit goes to these girls,” Clemson head coach Eddie Radwanksi said. “They’re the ones who withstood the challenge and the adversity.”
After a quiet regulation, the match remained scoreless through double overtime, forcing the match to end in a shootout, a first for Clemson this season. The Tigers were the first to miss in the shootout, falling behind in the count, but they came back with a vengeance with Dipasquale’s goal and an incredible save by Clemson goalie, Sandy Maciver, both contributing to the victory.
“It’s hard to be down in the penalty kick shootout, and you’re thinking ‘wow, it doesn’t look so good’, but the power of belief and the power of hope of what they can do and never giving up, that’s what I’m proud about with our group,” Radwanski said.
With the win, the Tigers improve to 11-6-2 on the season and moves onto the second round of the NCAA tournament, their 20th NCAA Tournament appearance and the sixth consecutive under Radwanski.
“We talked about being disciplined in certain areas of the game and our kids did a really good job with it today … following the game plan, taking advantage of those moments, and dealing with the moment,” Radwanski said. “It’s the first half, deal with the moment. It’s the second half, deal with the second. We are in the first overtime, deal with the overtime, the second overtime, and all right, now we are in the penalty. We’ve been mentally preparing for this and are excited to move onto the next round, wherever that may be.”
—photo courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications