Clemson, S.C. ? For the second consecutive season Stetson traveled to South Carolina to take on Clemson and returns home with a victory. With the 1-0 win the Hatters raised their record to 3-2-0 while the Tigers dropped to 1-4-1.
The teams played to a 0-0 tie in the first half with Clemson holding a 10-7 advantage in shots. Stetson controlled most of the second half and led 12-6 in shots.
The most important shot of the game came at 53:27 when Stetson junior Kevin Munz (Jupiter, Fla.) gave the ball to Eugene Starikov (Palm Harbor, Fla.), who moved into an opening in the middle and then slipped the ball through to Munz who unloaded into the low corner for his second goal of the season.
“The goal was a signature give-and-go between Munzy and Eugene,” said Hatters Head Coach T. Logan Fleck. “It was something we discussed looking for at halftime.”
Munz is now tied for second on the team in scoring with five points. Starikov led all players in the game with seven shots and continues to lead the team with 12 points. Kirk Labusch (Brandon, Fla.) dominated his side of the field all night and finished with two shots, both on goal.
Stetson goalkeeper Marc Galizia (Bradenton, Fla.) faced 16 shots and made seven saves for his first shutout of the season, as well as his career.
“The game went well for us. The guys in front of me played a great game and I just cleaned up the rest,” said Galizia before getting on the bus for a 10-hour ride back to DeLand. “We played our game, kept our cool, and we're going home with a 1-0 win.”
The back four of Dan Sackman (Hampshire, England), Robert Hodge (Devon, England), Miguel Rodrigues (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Richard Porteous (Austin, Texas) played flawlessly, while Alex Robinson (DeLand, Fla.) and Ryan Corning (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) controlled the tempo of the game from the midfield.
“This was a well-deserved win for the boys,” said Fleck. “We earned this win and put to rest any thoughts some may have had that that last year's result was a fluke.”
After tonight's win Stetson is now 2-3-0 all-time against Clemson; the teams first played in 1990. Last year the Hatters won by a score of 2-1.
Stetson will play an exhibition game at home this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against the Hatters' Alumni. Next week Stetson will be in Charleston, S.C. to play in the Saturn of Charleston/Nike Soccer Classic. The Hatters will play Alabama A&M on Thursday (9/25) at 5:00 p.m. and the College of Charleston on Saturday (9/27) at 3:30 p.m.
