CENTRAL, S.C. - The Southern Wesleyan Men's Soccer team was presented with a great opportunity on Tuesday night as they faced the Clemson Tigers, a NCAA Division I program, in a scrimmage at Historic Riggs Field on the campus of Clemson University.
Mattson just missed getting his second goal of the game in the second period, but his shot in the 10th minute of the period bounced hard off the right post. One minute later, Berenguel leapt high to deflect a shot by Mattson over the crossbar, keeping the score 1-0. With just under three minutes remaining in the second half, Austin Savage drilled a high arcing shot from 27 feet away that sailed into the top right corner of the goal.
Although the Tigers outshot the Warriors 19-3, only five of the Tigers shots were on goal while the Warriors had two shots on goal. Clemson goalkeeper Joseph Bendik played all but 6:30 of the game as he and Kamran Khyltash combined on the shutout.
SWU Head Coach Camilo Rodriguez was extremely pleased with his team's effort, saying, "The guys worked really hard out there and I'm really proud of their effort." He added, "The back of our defense played exceptionally well. Clemson had a lot of opportunities deep in their offensive end of the field, but were only able to get five shots on goal. Looking towards the upcoming season, Rodriguez said, "As we head into our regular season schedule and especially our conference schedule, we know we can compete with any team. We just have to keep working hard in practice."
The Warriors will play their next scrimmage this Friday when they travel to North Georgia College in Dahlonega, Ga. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
