No. 15 Syracuse (12-5-2, 3-4-1 Atlantic Coast) will face No. 2 Clemson (15-1-2, 6-1-1) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in South Carolina in the semifinal of the ACC tournament. The winner will play either Notre Dame or Wake Forest in the ACC championship game on Sunday.

Here are four things you need to know before the Orange takes on the Tigers.

Sweet Revenge

Clemson defeated Syracuse, 1-0, in the only meeting between the two teams this year on Oct. 17. The Orange and Tigers were gridlocked in a scoreless game until SU midfielder Oyvind Alseth coughed up the ball near midfield with less than a minute remaining.

Alseth was the last man back because Syracuse was coming off a corner kick, so Clemson’s Kyle Murphy streaked down an open field to score in a one-on-one chance with SU goalie Hendrik Hilpert.

After the game, Alseth crouched down on the field, covering his head with his jersey and wiping his face.

“For the team and for myself personally the ending of that game was tough,” Alseth said. “I’ve been waiting for a moment to redeem myself ever since that game and now the chance is here. I just have to seize it.”

Syracuse succeeded in its first revenge game against North Carolina on Sunday. SU had blown a 1-0 lead in the final 17 minutes the first time it played the Tar Heels, but emerged victorious on Sunday after penalty kicks to advance in the ACC tournament.

One common goal

SU has only been shutout once this year, against the Tigers and goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell. The junior tallied four saves — three in the second half — but the Orange didn’t present as many challenges between the posts as it could have with 11 corner kicks to Clemson’s three.

Dating back to the team’s last matchup three weeks ago, Tarbell’s allowed two goals combined in five games since.

“We have to test the goalkeeper much more than we did before,” SU forward Chris Nanco said. “See what he’s made out of.”

Ben Polk, Nanco’s counterpart on the Orange’s front line, fired off three shots on goal against Clemson, only to be turned away by the ACC’s leader in save percentage and shutouts. Alseth was the only other SU player to record a shot between the posts.

Even against an elite netminder, Nanco said familiarity will benefit Syracuse’s attack from better knowing how deep Tarbell prefers to stay in the net or when he chooses to come out. It’s a matter of execution for a Syracuse team that’s averaged the fourth-most goals per game, still behind the second-place Tigers.

“If you give a team like Clemson time, it turns good players into great players,” Polk said. “ … We know (Tarbell’s) good.

“Still (have to) test him. Anything can happen.”

Saving grace

Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said along with Tarbell, Orange freshman goalkeeper Hendrik Hilpert is one of the top goalies in the conference.

Hilpert, who has started every game in net for Syracuse since coming back from a preseason injury on Oct. 2, holds a 1.05 goals-against average and a 66.7 save percentage. He’s coming off a season-best four-save performance in which he made multiple acrobatic stops.

While Hilpert has been between the posts, he and the SU defense have registered two shutouts and never allowed more than two goals in a game.

“There are two good goalkeepers,” Hilpert said. “We will see who’s the better one in this game.”

In SU’s first matchup with Clemson, Hilpert made three desperation saves in the first half, including two that he punched just over the crossbar. He was perfect against Clemson’s then-top scoring offense until Alseth’s turnover left him out to dry in the final minute.

“Last time, it was tough for them to do something against us,” Hilpert said. “We had very good defense against them. It was difficult for them to shoot a goal.”

More than a hope

The biggest difference between Syracuse now and when the Orange lost to the Tigers in the first matchup is the confidence of the team, Hilpert said.

Before beating UNC on Sunday, Syracuse was winless in four matchups against ranked teams this season. SU tied then-No. 23 Louisville on Sept. 11, lost 3-1 against then-No. 7 Wake Forest a week later and blew the lead against then-No. 2 North Carolina on Oct. 10.

When the Orange defeated UNC to advance to the semifinals against the Tigers, Hilpert said the team realized they could win against the top teams in the country instead of just playing close.

“We were coming from hoping to be a good a team. This was our goal at the beginning,” Hilpert said of the feeling prior to the first game against Clemson. “But now we know that we are a good team. Now we know that we can win against Clemson.

“I think Clemson will face a much better opponent on Wednesday. We’re ready for them.”

Published on November 9, 2015 at 10:20 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus