Clemson vs Notre Dame score, highlights, result as Tigers win 2023 NCAA men's soccer national championship

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Kyle Bonn
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• 20 min read
Clemson men's soccer 2023 NCAA championship trophy
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The ACC had its third straight men's soccer national champion confirmed before kickoff, but No. 14 Clemson capped off its magical run to claim the 2024 title with a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame.

Brandon Parrish opened the scoring in the 27th minute with a glorious strike from outside the penalty area, and the team's star striker Ousmane Sylla bagged their second with 20 minutes remaining.

Following Clemson's opener, the Fighting Irish dominated for large stretches of the match, but failed to finish their multitude of chances in front of goal. Clemson goalkeeper Joseph Andema was solid in net, and the Tigers' back line cleared multiple chances off the line, including an acrobatic play by Parrish.

Notre Dame finally broke through with an 89th minute penalty to mark the first goal Clemson conceded the entirety of the NCAA tournament, but it was too little too late to find a way back from the two-goal deficit.

Clemson, the 2021 national title winners, struggled at the start of the year, but finished the season on a 14-match unbeaten run to win the national title. Notre Dame, ranked fourth in the country, had a spectacular season full of big wins, but came up short in both the conference and national tournaments.

The Sporting News is following the 2023 NCAA women's soccer championship match between Notre Dame and Clemson live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

2023 NCAA men's soccer championship final score

  Score Goal scorers
Clemson 2 Parrish (27'),
Sylla (70')
Notre Dame 1 Burns (89', pen)

Kickoff: 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT
Location: Lynn Family Stadium (Louisville, KY)
Referee: Dimitar Chavdarov

2023 NCAA men's soccer championship live updates, highlights

FULLTIME: Clemson 2-1 Notre Dame

Mohamed Sylla gets a yellow card with four seconds left for kicking away a Notre Dame free-kick, but there's not enough time for the Irish to do anything with it, and Clemson are your 2023 NCAA men's soccer national champions!

It came down to the wire, but Notre Dame struggled to finish their chances and simply ran out of time. Clemson become the seventh team in NCAA men's soccer history to win four national titles, lifting the trophy two out of the last three years!

Clemson vs Notre Dame: Second Half

89th min: PENALTY, NOTRE DAME! One last heave for Notre Dame sees goalkeeper Bryan Dowd come up for a set-piece delivery from about 27 yards from goal centrally. They play it short to the right, and Bryce Boneau's cross to the middle hits the outstretched arm of Tyler Trimnal!

Stepping up to the spot is Paddy Burns...GOAL! NOTRE DAME! He absolutely buries a rocket penalty, and there's a nervy 60 seconds to come! It's the first goal conceded by Clemson this entire tournament!

88th min: Now Joseph Andema is booked for time wasting down the stretch, but he won't care. He's 1:30 from a national championship.

87th min: Gael Gibert is booked by the official for a foul on KK Baffour. Then, in the aftermath, the referee is going to the monitor to review something, and it's unclear exactly what for.

Replay shows it's for a bit of a scuffle off the ball after Baffour goes to ground. There's a number of players involved, but it doesn't appear that there's really enough to see anyone sent off. Baffour does kick out at Gibert as he goes to ground, while Gibert has a naughty finger wag right in Baffour's face after it, but neither are given additional punishment, which is the right call.

83rd min: Chance, Notre Dame! The Fighting Irish again come up empty as KK Baffour rips one wide of the far post after good work from Daniel Russo with his back to goal. They just have not executed in front of goal tonight.

78th min: Chance, Notre Dame! A cross from Eno Nto on the right nearly forces an own goal as two Clemson defenders track the charging Notre Dame forward, but Joseph Andema does very well to get down and make the save as the ball was trickling towards the goal mouth.

75th min: Notre Dame are back to dominating the attacking possession, but are running out of time. Matthew Roou's shot from the left is wide of the near post.

70th min: GOAL! CLEMSON! The Tigers strike again with really their only look on goal this entire half, and they have doubled the lead through Ousmane Sylla! It appeared that Alex Meinhard had taken far too long to feed the middle with his dribble down the right, but his patience is rewarded as he cuts a horizontal feed to Sylla who's all alone on the penalty spot.

The Clemson senior buries the chance with a first-time blast that leaves Bryan Dowd with no chance for a diving save.

65th min: Bryce Boneau has another good look as he produces a leaping karate kick shot from the top of the penalty area, but it's blocked away for a corner. The Fighting Irish are absolutely pouring on the pressure, and it feels like an equalizer is just over the horizon.

Mohamed Saye is booked for standing over a Notre Dame free-kick and blocking its delivery for too long. He exits the match as Mike Noonan brings Tyler Trimnal back on.

63rd min: Chance, Notre Dame! A turnover generated in the Clemson half by the press sees Bryce Boneau have a chance on goal from the left side, but Joseph Andema does well to come off his line and close out the effort, blocking it behind for a corner.

62nd min: Mohamed Sylla has Clemson's first shot attempt since the 38th minute, as the Tigers get forward on the counter, but his effort from atop the 18-yard box just outside the area is blocked and doesn't trouble Bryan Dowd. It has been all Notre Dame since Clemson's first-half opener.

59th min: Chance, Notre Dame! HOW HAS THAT NOT GONE IN???? CLEMSON CLEAR OFF THE LINE! It's an unbelievably acrobatic clearance by Brandon Parrish who bicycle kicks right on the goal mouth to keep that ball from going in!

A corner is floated in which sees Joseph Andema come out but whiff, and the ball falls right into the lap of Matthew Roou. Yet the Notre Dame forward didn't appear ready for the ball to reach him, and he doesn't put a shot on, instead just seeing the ball hit his legs, which allows Parrish to clear with style.

56th min: A yellow card is shown to Joran Gerbet as he yanks Bryce Boneau back by the shirt. He had a whole handful of cloth on that one, and the refere had no choice but to go to his pocket.

55th min: Chance, Notre Dame! PADDY BURNS RATTLES THE CROSSBAR! Notre Dame come so close to an equalizer as they cycle the ball from the right flank across the top of the penalty area through no less than four attacking players. Eventually it comes to Burns on the far side, and he drives a first-time blast that strikes the underside of the crossbar and comes out! So so unlucky!

51st min: The match is stopped as Ethan O'Brien receives treatment after being blasted straight in the face by a lofted pass. He has to come off the pitch as he looks to stem a bloody nose, but appears to be ok otherwise. He'll have to sort out the blood before he can re-enter the match, as KK Baffour comes back in off the bench.

47th min: Notre Dame have a dangerous set-piece from the right of the penalty area for a foul by Gael Gibert, and they take it quickly catching everyone off guard, including the TV broadcast. That's a legal, live delivery by Ethan O'Brien, but it's shorted and Joseph Andema's positioned to catch it easily. Had it been delivered higher and over Andema's head, it would have absolutely been trouble, but while the idea was good the execution was poor.

Kickoff: The final 45 minutes of regulation are under way! While Clemson have the lead, Notre Dame were the better side through the final 15 minutes of the first half, and will want to build on that pressure. Can the Tigers hold them off and possibly double their lead? Or will Notre Dame become the first team in the NCAA Tournament to breach the Clemson defensive line and find a way back in?

Clemson head coach Mike Noonan put it very simply before the restart, telling the ESPN broadcast that the way to win the match is "score the next goal." Whoever finds it, if either side, will be the sudden momentum leader.

HALFTIME: Clemson 1-0 Notre Dame

Brandon Parrish's moment of brilliance is the difference between the two national finalists at the halftime break! Notre Dame started slow but grew into the match and built themselves up as halftime approached.

There's still a lot to come between these two evenly-matched teams, but Clemson are unbeaten this year when leading at the half! The Fighting Irish have a mountain to climb if they are to turn this around against one of the country's most in-form teams.

Clemson vs Notre Dame: First Half

42nd min: The first yellow card of the game is shown to Clemson defender Pape Mar Boye who bulldozes Matthew Roou with an elbow to the back of the Notre Dame forward on an aerial duel. Deserved booking for sure.

39th min: Chance, Clemson! Mohamed Seye comes very close to doubling Clemson's lead! A great cross from Alex Meinhard on the right meets Seye at the top of the six-yard box, but his first-time redirect goes just inches wide of the far post!

37th min: Notre Dame are building their pressure, and there's a massive penalty shout as KK Baffour goes down in the penalty area as Clemson defender Gael Gibert challenged from behind. The referee waves play on and the Notre Dame bench is livid!

On first glance it didn't appear as if there was much contact between the two at all, and replay confirms that the contact was minimal. Well done by the match official to keep from being drawn by that.

32nd min: Chance, Notre Dame! A Notre Dame free-kick is delivered to the head of Daniel Russo at the far post, but the Irish forward can't keep the shot on frame, directing it wide while aiming for the far top corner. A good run but lacked a finish!

30th min: Chance, Notre Dame! A lovely little chipped ball from KK Baffour falls to Matt Roou with his back to goal. He chests it down and rips a volley on the turn which requires another good save by Joseph Andema!

27th min: GOAL! CLEMSON! The corner kick delivers the first goal of the match! The initial ball is short and cleared by the first man, but it falls right to Brandon Parrish, who rips a SENSATIONAL strike from nearly 25 yards out that buries into the back of the net. It's an absolute rip that bends away from the goalkeeper!

In the aftermath, Notre Dame goalkeeper Bryan Dowd comes up holding his shoulder. He stays in, but it seems his dive may have caused some pain, so we'll see how it affects him moving forward.

26th min: Play is stopped as Shawn Smart is caught in the face by a trailing arm from Paddy Burns in the attacking half. Smart is up and ok, and Clemson have a dangerous free-kick chance that basically doubles as a corner kick. Tyler Trimnal appeared to get his head to the ball but it's cleared out for an actual corner.

23rd min: Clemson right-back Shawn Smart has begun to prove influential on the overlap, as the combination of Smart and Tyler Trimnal is pestering the Notre Dame back line with a few good crosses to the far post. No Clemson attackers have yet been in position to take advantage.

20th min: Both sides have had a few half-chances over the past 10 minutes or so, but neither team seems to be putting their opponent under serious threat. The back lines, to this point, have gained good control over the match.

7th min: Chance, Notre Dame! The Fighting Irish get on the ball and unlock the Clemson defense with a big switch of possession. It gets Daniel Russo open from a tight angle on the right, but his shot is saved well by Joseph Andema! The angle was very difficult to find an opening from but it still required a smart save to keep the chance out.

4th min: Since the instant prod forward for Notre Dame, Clemson have controlled the entirety of possession in the early going. If this is a foreshadowing of the game at large, the Irish are in trouble. Stanford absorbed waves of pressure from Florida State in the women's title game, and even their nationally renowned defense wasn't able to keep up.

1st min: Right out of the gates there's some danger for Clemson goalkeeper Joseph Andema to deal with! He smothers a long ball that nearly unlocks their defense seconds into the match.

Kickoff: They're under way in Louisville! An all-ACC battle has commenced for the national title, and one of these two dominant programs will win an NCAA championship!

Clemson vs Notre Dame: Pre-match commentary, analysis, stats, and more

15 mins to kickoff: Clemson head coach Mike Noonan wants his team to leave a legacy in tonight's game. That's the prize on the line in the national championship game! Once you win it, nobody can take that away from you. For those on the Tigers who can win a second title, they would enter a new class of college soccer immortality.

30 mins to kickoff: Today's venue, Lynn Family Stadium, will host the NCAA national championship game for the first time. This stadium seats 11,700 fans, the regular home of NWSL side Racing Louisville and USL Championship club Louisville City SC. It's a brand new venue, only opening in 2020!

45 mins to kickoff: Since falling to Wake Forest in late September, Clemson has reinvented its defensive solidity, transforming the team behind an already dangerous attacking unit. The Tigers have conceded more than one goal exactly one time, in a 3-3 thriller against Duke in the ACC tournament.

They've taken even another step in the NCAA Tournament, yet to concede a single goal this entire competition through four games, eight goals unanswered since UNC's opener in the 49th minute of the ACC tournament final.

1 hour to kickoff: Ousmane Sylla has worked his way up the attacking ranks since joining Clemson back in 2020. He earned a starting role last season but managed to bag just five goals in 18 starts, before blossoming into a full-blown goal threat this season with 12 goals and 10 assists, becoming one of just two players in the nation with double-digit goals and assists.

Sylla hails from the SIMA academy in Florida, which has a heavy link-up with developing talent from Senegal. He played under former Clemson stars Justin Malou and Hamady Diop, both of whom also hail from Senegal and were selected in the MLS draft, with Diop going first overall in 2023.

Now, Sylla has made the Clemson attack his own and could be the next Tiger star to go high in the MLS selection process. He's a semifinalist for this year's top collegiate award, the Mac Hermann trophy.

1 hour 15 mins to kickoff: In such a brutal conference, winning ACC Coach of the Year is a very high honor. Doing so without winning the regular season championship is an even bigger accomplishment. That's exactly what Notre Dame boss Chad Riley did this season, beating highly regarded Wake Forest head coach Bobby Muus to the crown.

The only other time a Notre Dame coach won the honor was back in 2013, when Bobby Clark led the side to the national title. Can Riley make good on that premonition?

1 hour 30 mins to kickoff: The ACC was the nation's toughest conference top to bottom this season, by a country mile. It's regular season champion Wake Forest hit No. 1 in the nation through the middle of the season, but the Demon Deacons fell short in both the ACC and NCAA tournament. Clemson surged to win the tournament, but if Notre Dame were to win today, it would mark three different winners in three different arenas.

Next year, the conference is going to get even more brutal as they add Stanford, Cal and SMU thanks to the fallout from the Pac-12's demise. SMU finished the season ranked second in the country, while Stanford ranked 22nd and Cal were in the polls at various points throughout the year. It's a gauntlet of a conference, with talent spread across the nation, which is fun and daunting at the same time.

Clemson vs Notre Dame lineups, team news

The Clemson front line is led by first-team All American forward Ousmane Sylla, an experienced forward who hails from the SIMA program in Montverde, Florida – which has built a strong connection to locating and developing talent from Senegal. He played a significant role in the 2021 national championship team and is the Tigers' leading scorer this season with 12 goals, including a hat-trick against Boston College in October.

Their leading creative duties are largely carried by winger Alex Meinhard, who is joint-leader with five assists. Nathan Richmond has equalled that mark, but has only just returned from injury, coming off the bench in the last two matches. In his place on the right flank is Tyler Trimnal who has been exceptional in his expanded role, with five goals and two assists despite just eight starts on the year.

Clemson starting lineup (4-3-3): 1. Andema (GK) — 20. Smart, 27. Gibert, 2. Boye, 33. Duquenne — 11. Parrish, 6. Gerbet, 3. Lundegard — 17. Trimnal, 10. Sylla, 15. Meinhard.

Clemson subs: 9. Seye, 25. Richmond, 30. Okunlola.

Notre Dame is led from the back, with goalkeeper Bryan Dowd appearing as the team's lone All American named in the first team. Dowd became the first Notre Dame player ever named ACC Goalkeeper of the Year, conceding just eight goals in 15 conference matches while his 11 shutouts are second in the country. Dowd's .841 save percentage ranks seventh in the nation, and it's come on a higher volume of efforts, with his 69 saves more than anyone above him on the save percentage chart.

Striker Matthew Roou is the team's second-leading scorer with 10 goals, but sophomore Eno Nto impressively leads the squad with 11 goals despite recently coming off the bench. He's got four goals as a substitute this season, but does damage from the start as well, bagging four goals against a highly-ranked Pitt side back in late October.

Notre Dame starting lineup (4-4-2): 31. Dowd (GK) — 15. Burns, 18. Ramsey, 2. Ferguson, 5. Genenbacher — 16. Baffour, 7. O'Brien, 13. Boneau, 11. Russo — 9. Nto, 21. Rou.

Notre Dame subs: 6. W. Lewis, 8. Radivojsa, 14. M. Williams, 22. Spicer.

How to watch 2023 NCAA men's soccer championship

  • TV channel: ESPNU
  • Streaming: Fubo, ESPN+, WatchESPN

The entirety of the 2023 NCAA men's and women's College Cup will be televised on ESPNU, with both the semifinals and finals broadcast live on the channel.

The matches can be streamed on ESPN+ or WatchESPN for those with valid login credentials, while ESPNU can also be found on Fubo.

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Author(s)
Kyle Bonn Photo
Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn is a soccer content producer for The Sporting News.