No. 1 Clemson defeats No. 13 Indiana, 3-2 (2024)

For much of the second half of Friday's heavyweight clash between No. 1 Clemson and No. 13 Indiana, it seemed as if a tough penalty call would ruin the Tigers' banner-raising home opener. Ousmane Sylla had other plans. A pair of goals from the Tigers' No. 10 sent the fans at Riggs Field home happy with a 3-2 Clemson win.

Mohamed Seye scored the second for Clemson and was integral to both of Sylla's goals. He served as the focal point of the attack, occupying defenders and allowing Sylla the space just under him to operate. The two were involved in every attack as the game opened up in the second half with seven shots between the two.

Despite the high scoreline, the game also featured spectacular goalkeeper play from both sides. IU's JT Harms faced nine shots on goal from the Tigers, keeping his team in the game with point-blank saves. Clemson's Trevor Manion made up for an ugly mistake on the Hoosiers' first goal with a handful of impressive stops in the second half, including a 56th-minute effort to keep the score evened up.

The win sees the Tigers improve to 85-5-4 under coach Mike Noonan when leading at the half. It's the program's first win over Indiana since 1987, back when the Hoosiers were ranked No. 1. Clemson went on to win its second national championship that season.

The extra touch made all the difference for Sylla in the 79th minute. He has been Clemson's creative hub all night long and scored his second in a similar fashion to his first. He received a pass from Elton Chifamba at the top of the area, took one touch to his right to tease a shot, and took a second to send IU defender Jack Maher to ground. His next touch was a bullet past JT Harms for a 3-2 lead.

In the 52nd minute, Ryan Wittenbrink slotted a penalty kick in the top right corner, sending Manion the wrong way. It was Diop who brought down Joseph Skinner in the box, though a video replay showed virtually no contact.

The defending champs showed an impressive ability to bounce back. In their last game, the 2021 College Cup final, the Tigers pounced on a goalkeeping error to take a 1-0 lead. On Friday it was Clemson on the wrong side of a keeper mishap.

After his teammates responded with two quick goals courtesy of Sylla and Seye, netminder Manion settled in himself, making a pair of strong saves to maintain the lead.

Clemson has been the more physical team, committing nine fouls to the Hoosiers' one (a first-minute yellow card to Ben Yeagley). That hasn't stopped Indiana from creating a few significant scoring chances toward the end of the first 45.

Ousmane Sylla saw the Hoosiers take a lead and took it upon himself to even the score within minutes. In the 12th, he controlled just above the semi-circle and lashed a shot into the bottom corner for the equalizer.

Four minutes later, Mohamed Seye picked up the ball near midfield and made a powerful run to the box, finishing neatly with the outside of his left foot. 2-1 Clemson, just like that.

Indiana's Samuel Sarver stunned Riggs Field with an opening goal after just five minutes, pressing Clemson GK Trevor Manian into a mistake in front of his own goal.

After losing six players to the MLS SuperDraft (a school record), the Tigers are returning three key players from last year's championship team, one in each unit of the outfield.

Junior defender Hamady Diop was an All-ACC Second Team selection but is the only player from the backline to remain at Clemson. In midfield, junior Ousmane Sylla returns to pull strings and create chances as he did with five goals and a team-leading seven assists in 2021. At the point of the attack, senior forward Isaiah Reed looks to match or better his team-high nine goals from a season ago.

Clemson starting XI: GK Trevor Manion; DEF Ben Erkens, Diop, Enrique Montana, Joseph Skinner; MID Sylla, Alvaro Gomez, Derek Waleffe, Elton Chifamba; FWD Reed, Mohamed Seye

The Hoosiers, meanwhile, welcome back 20 of 25 players who saw minutes a year ago. At the back, the center-back duo of Joey Maher and Daniel Munie started all 22 games last season and recorded 13 clean sheets. Munie was awarded Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for his contributions and is ranked as the No. 3 player in the country (and best defender) by TopDrawerSoccer.

The 2021 College Cup champions are back on the pitch to begin their national title defense against Indiana on Friday. The Tigers will raise their national championship banner pregame while the Hoosiers look to return to the top of DI men's soccer for the first time since 2013. Here's how to catch the action.

• Time:7 p.m. ET
• Date:Friday, Aug. 26
• TV:ESPNU
• Location:Historic Riggs Field in Clemson, South Carolina