Eagles fans this season have seen the good and the bad, but on Friday night they saw the ugly as the Eagles lost 6-0 to Clemson. Struggling on the road all season, the Eagles collapsed against the Tigers, mustering a total of one shot on goal all game. Ousmane Sylla recorded a hattrick, Alex Meinhard a brace, and Nathan Richmond also snagged a goal in a blowout victory for the Tigers.
The disaster started in the 20th minute when Clemson took the ball down the right side, avoiding a tackle and then pulling a move to get past Drew Serafino, who was tracking back. The initial shot from a tough angle was smacked down by Eagles’ goalkeeper Brennan Klein, but directed right at Meinhard, who was making the run. The Clemson senior tapped it past Klein at the near post to give the Tigers the 1-0 lead.
Meinhard nabbed his brace in the 51st minute, with a nifty give and go between him and Sylla at the top of the 18-yard box. With three Eagles defenders trying to stop Sylla, the ball ended up at Meinhard’s feet and he rifled it across the face of the goal and into the top corner far post netting to make the game 5-0.
Sylla scored his first career hat trick, making the score 2-0 in the 23rd minute with a converted penalty kick. There was a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check to potentially reverse the penalty call, but the referee stood by the decision.
Eight minutes later, Sylla had a brace after receiving a pass at the top of the 18-yard box, splitting two defenders, and finishing his shot near post past a sliding Klein in a one-on-one.
The hattrick was completed in the 62nd minute. Joran Gerbet ran onto a ball over the top, dribbling down the right side to have a one-on-one against Klein, who was off his line. Klein made the initial stop with his foot, but the rebound fell to Sylla and, despite a scramble to get back into position, Sylla tucked the ball into the near post to make it 6-0.
Richmond scored perhaps the sickest goal of the rout in the 34th minute, casually flicking in a backheel to make it 4-0. The casual ease of the goal stood in stark contrast to the difficulties the Eagles have had in finding the back of the net.
Youth, inexperience, and injuries are all possible answers to explain the collapse, but these issues aren’t new to the Eagles and most of the goals scored against them were directly related to a lack of defensive coverage by the wingers, stretching the back three and opening up space in the middle of the box. Rebounds contributed to two goals, and even if the Eagles had scored every shot they took (two), the game would not have been competitive.
Despite the rout, the Eagles did not change formation to provide more defensive integrity. Once again, players could be heard yelling at their teammates and the referees, signaling the deeper mentality issues facing the team. The Eagles made just two non-injury substitutions in the first half, both to the midfield/forward corps, not the defense. There were no substitutions made between the first goal and the fourth. The desire to see the disaster through unchanged, a hallmark of this Eagles team this year, was on full display as things rapidly went from bad to worse.
A bad game for the Eagles was made worse with the number of injuries the team faced. Captain Diego Ochoa went down holding his knee early in the first half. He returned to play, but went down again, subbing out in the 20th minute. Disaster struck just a minute later. Jonathan Murphy, nursing an injury, left the game frustrated in the 70th minute. Connor Gibson, who started, missed much of the second half due to a knock sustained in the first. Drew Serafino left the game in the 72nd minute with an injury.
The consolation prize for the Eagles was two-fold: not conceding again after the 62nd minute goal and then putting together a strong final 20 minutes that saw the Eagles’ only shot on goal. With nothing to lose and a heavily depleted starting lineup, head coach Bob Thompson turned to his bench, subbing on players like Arsen Melkumyan and Jorge Dickens, who haven’t seen a lot of playing time this season. Although unable to generate offense, the Eagles managed to stop the bleeding and recover some possession, stringing together passes and managing to advance up the field.
The Eagles (3-8-4) finish out their season at home against No.22 Syracuse (7-3-5) on Friday, October 27th at 7:00 pm. The Eagles will celebrate senior night.
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