No. 9 Clemson and North Carolina Face off in ACC Quarterfinal

CLEMSON, S.C. -- The No. 9 (United Soccer Coaches) Clemson men's soccer team opens up ACC Tournament play at Historic Riggs Field on Sunday night in a quarterfinal matchup with the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tigers earned the second seed in the tournament and in turn a bye and home field advantage until the conference Championship. The seventh-seeded Tar Heels punched their ticket into the quarterfinal on Wednesday in a thrilling 1-0 2OT victory against Syracuse.

The winner of Sunday night's quarterfinal will play the winner of third-seeded Duke and sixth-seeded Wake Forest. That match will kick off the quadruple header on ACC Network, starting at 2 p.m. and culminating with Clemson's match, kicking off at 8 p.m.

Clemson holds a narrow 29-28-7 advantage in the all-time series with North Carolina, but UNC has won five of the last six matchups between the two teams. The most recent matchup between the two Carolinian schools ended in a 3-3 tie.

Clemson will look to carry some momentum from its offensive explosion in the regular season finale that resulted in a 5-1 win over Louisville. That victory secured the Tigers their third-straight ACC Atlantic Division title. Five different Tigers scored in the match, including Quinn McNeill, whose efforts earned him the ACC's Offensive Player of the Week recognition. Defender Oskar Ågren, who converted a penalty kick earlier in the week against FIU, was named the conference's co-Defensive Player of the Week.

Starting in net for Clemson will be goalkeeper George Marks, who, with a clean sheet, would move into sole possession of third-place on Clemson's all-time solo shutout leaderboard. The offense has been led by junior forward Isaiah Reid, who is even with midfielder Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador for the team lead in points, 15. Fernandez-Salvador's brace against FIU and assist against Louisville secured him five points last week alone.