CLEMSON, S.C. - The No. 4 Clemson Tigers (11-2-1, 5-1 ACC) secured a statement win over the No. 8 Louisville Cardinals (10-2-2, 3-2-1 ACC) in a 3-0 victory on Friday night at Historic Riggs field. Three different Tigers netted goals for Clemson in the victory as freshman Jake Basinet recorded his first career goal and an assist to propel the Tigers to an ACC win.
The Tigers shut down the Cardinals entirely despite Louisville placing 7 shots on goal throughout the 90-minute contest. Clemson goalkeeper Gaizka Garcia recorded two saves, keeping the Louisville program off the score board for only the second time during the 2026 season.
The Clemson Tigers were on the attack from kick off, firing off nine shots in the first 45’. Junior Malick Daouda found junior Ransford Gyan to convert the first goal of the night for the Tigers in the 31’. Daouda made the pass to Gyan who swiftly moved past the Louisville defender and floated a shot into the far side of the net over the Cardinals’ keeper. This marked Gyan’s 11th goal of the season and gave Clemson the 1-0 advantage at the half.
The Cardinals applied pressure in their defensive half throughout the first 45 minutes of play, which resulted in a Louisville defender receiving a red card. He was ejected from the game in the 43’, forcing the Cardinals to play down a man for the remainder of the match.
Clemson pounced on its first half lead and man advantage to break past the Cardinals back line in the second half, scoring two goals just four minutes apart. Daouda was the first to extend the lead for the Tigers, as sophomore Xander Sevian found Daouda just outside the 18-yard box. Daouda fired a shot to the low corner of the net in the 61’. Basinet used the offensive momentum to record his first career goal off another assist from Sevian, to put the Tigers up 3-0 in the 65’.
Clemson held onto the 3-0 advantage for the final 25 minutes of play to secure its fourth shutout of the season and fifth ACC victory.
