Denigan's Goal Helps Georgia Tie No. 9 Clemson

Sunday, September 10

Athens, Ga.

6 p.m.

University of Georgia

3-1-2, 0-0-0

Clemson

6-0-2, 0-0-0

Clemson

Georgia

September 10, 2023 | Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

ATHENS, Ga. – An early second-half goal by redshirt freshman midfielder Summer Denigan boosted the University of Georgia soccer team in a 1-1 tie against No. 9 Clemson before 1,368 spectators Sunday evening at the Turner Soccer Complex.

"First of all, let me thank the fans," Georgia head coach Keidane McAlpine said. "That was a fantastic crowd, the energy was great. We needed it. These are the kind of games that we want to play. These are tournament-style games. That was an excellent Clemson team, and I thought the adjustments we made at the half were great. We got into the goal; we made some chances. We probably should've scored one before that, but to get the goal was fantastic. Unfortunately, we gave it away at the end. We got a little fatigued, didn't hold the ball well and made some poor decisions. All in all, fantastic draw. It's one of those that we are going to need going down the road."

Denigan led Georgia (3-1-2) in shots with three of the Bulldogs' 10 attempts. Senior Madison Haugen and redshirt senior Nicole Vernis chipped in with two each. Clemson (6-0-2) tallied 13 shots on the evening, with sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Brown posting five saves in the full 90 minutes.

The Georgia defense kept the Tigers from scoring in the first half with Brown making three saves, including a quick block and fingertip stop. The Bulldogs had five shots in the first period with a shot on goal from Vernis that was saved by Clemson keeper Halle Mackiewicz.

Georgia opened the second half with control of the ball in the Tigers' territory. In the 50^th minute, a Georgia corner kick moved the ball into the box, and a deflection from a Clemson defender dropped to allow Denigan an open shot in the bottom left corner of the goal, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 advantage.

"It felt good [to score]," Denigan said. "I felt like me personally, it's been building, so it felt good to put one in the back of the net to help get the result. Obviously, we wanted to win, but I thought it was a good game. We played up to our standards."

In the 70^th minute, the Tigers moved the ball into the top of the box and worked around the Georgia defense. A pass from Clemson's Makenna Morris connected with Emma Wennar who sent a shot bouncing into the goal to balance the board, 1-1. Despite chances for both teams in the closing minutes, the score remained knotted.

The Bulldogs will now hit the road and head to Tuscaloosa to face No. 12 Alabama on Thursday, Sept. 14. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m., and the match will be aired at SEC Network.

For complete information on Georgia soccer, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGASoccer on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.