No. 23 Clemson Opens 2024 Season Against Davidson
Clemson, S.C. – No. 23 Clemson is set to open its 2024 season on Saturday, February 10 at 2 p.m. against Davidson at its brand new Clemson Lacrosse Complex on Lake Hartwell. The game will be the first ticketed game in Clemson Lacrosse history. Fans who aren’t able to make it to the game in person can watch it live on ACC Network
Last year, Clemson opened with a decisive 23-1 win over Wofford where Hanna Hilcoff scored the first goal in the first 40 seconds of the game. In its inaugural season last year, Clemson finished the regular season 12-5 with a 4-5 record against ACC opponents. The season was highlighted by an 11-10 upset over No. 13 Duke and a top 25 national ranking for nine straight weeks. After narrowly missing a bid to the NCAA Tournament last year, the Tigers head into the 2024 season eager to prove themselves worthy to go dancing in May.
In addition to Head Coach Allison Kwolek, Clemson is led by Associate Head Coach Bill Olin and Assistant Coaches Madison Carter and Marina Miller. At the end of fall ball, the team voted in Ella Little, Bella D’Gracia, Shannon Brazier and Kerri Thornton as this year’s captains.
Clemson returned 17 players and added nine transfers and eight freshmen in the offseason. The star-studded freshmen group was named the No. 4 overall class in the country by Inside Lacrosse, featuring the No. 2 overall freshman in Natalie Shurtleff as well as Regan Byrne, Blair Byrne, and Jasmine Stanton being named in the top 50 and Kayla Macleod and Camryn Pfundstein being named to the watchlist. The transfers join Clemson from some of the top programs in the country, including Maryland, Boston College, Syracuse, UConn, Cornell, JMU, and UMBC.
Saturday’s game will be the first time that Clemson and Davidson have played each other in the regular season. Last season, two Davidson transfers and now Clemson alum, Gianna New and Emma Johnson, consistently helped Clemson find success in its inaugural year.
Davidson finished its 2023 campaign 11-5 overall in the regular season. One notable player who returns for the Wildcats is Julianne Carey, who led her team in draw controls with 113 total and finished second in scoring with 34 total goals.