Skip to content
Triangle Local

Chapel Hill, Orange County

Chapel Hill: UNC men's soccer beats Clemson 3-2 in double overtime, reaches ACC semifinals

The No. 7 seed beat the No. 2 seed 3-2 Sunday at Historic Riggs Field. Luca Nikolai scored on a penalty kick in the second overtime. North Carolina is 9-2-6. Thursday's opponent is NC State, at 5:30 p.m. in Cary.

UpdatedThis story has changed since it was first published.

By Alexandru Stanciu · Published · Updated

What we know

Confirmed

  • North Carolina beat Clemson 3-2 on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in an ACC men's soccer championship quarterfinal at Historic Riggs Field in Clemson, S.C. The UNC box score lists kickoff at noon and attendance of 1,687. By period, North Carolina scored 2, 0, 0 and 1. Clemson scored 0, 2, 0 and 0.Confirmed by UNC Athletics box score; Clemson Athletics recap
  • UNC's recap ranks North Carolina No. 17 nationally and Clemson No. 3. Clemson's recap and the Daily Tar Heel both describe North Carolina as the No. 7 seed and Clemson as the No. 2 seed.Confirmed by UNC Athletics recap; Clemson Athletics recap; The Daily Tar Heel
  • The box score record line is North Carolina 9-2-6 overall and 3-1-4 in the ACC, and Clemson 13-3-2 and 6-1-1. UNC's recap says the Tar Heels are unbeaten in 10 matches, seven of them wins, and that Clemson's 11-match unbeaten streak ended.Confirmed by UNC Athletics box score and recap
  • Nico Loebus scored at 19:44. The scoring line spells him Nicolas Loebus and credits an assist to Nick Lockermann. UNC's recap says he headed a clearance after three corner kicks in a row, and that the goal was his second of the season.Confirmed by UNC Athletics box score and recap
  • Bertil Rygaard Hansen scored at 28:32, assisted by Joschi Schelb, and the lead was 2-0. UNC's recap says that was Hansen's second goal of the season.Confirmed by UNC Athletics box score and recap
  • Martin Bakken scored for Clemson at 51:59. The sheet lists assists by Remi Okunlola and Ransford Gyan. Clemson's recap says it was Bakken's third goal of the year.Confirmed by UNC Athletics box score; Clemson Athletics recap
  • Ransford Gyan scored at 69:15 and tied the match. The sheet lists assists by Xander Sevian and Arthur Duquenne. UNC's recap and Clemson's recap both describe a header. Clemson says the goal was Gyan's 14th of the year, which matches the (14) on the scoring line.Confirmed by UNC Athletics box score; UNC Athletics recap; Clemson Athletics recap
  • Luca Nikolai scored on a penalty kick at 105:06, in the second overtime. The sheet lists no assist. UNC's recap calls the kick the 106th minute and says it was his fifth penalty of the season. A tidbit on that recap also calls the goal his fifth of the season and the 13th of his career. The scoring summary prints (4) beside his name. Those figures are not treated as one number here. Clemson's recap says a foul in the penalty area was reviewed and confirmed before North Carolina converted.Confirmed by UNC Athletics box score; UNC Athletics recap; Clemson Athletics recap
  • On the UNC sheet, Clemson had 17 shots and 7 on goal. North Carolina had 10 shots and 4 on goal. Saves were 5 and 1. Corners were 7 and 1. Fouls were 10 and 17. Alan Rutkowski is credited with 5 saves in 106 minutes. Gaizka Garcia is credited with 1 save in 106 minutes.Confirmed by UNC Athletics box score
  • UNC's recap says the Tar Heels play the winner of Wake Forest and NC State on Thursday, Nov. 12, at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, at either 5:30 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. Eastern, on ACC Network. The Daily Tar Heel also places that semifinal in Cary on Thursday and does not name a winner of the other quarterfinal.Confirmed by UNC Athletics recap, Nov. 8, 2026; The Daily Tar Heel, Nov. 8, 2026
  • NC State's athletics recap of its 1-0 overtime win over Wake Forest on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, says the Wolfpack play 7-seed and No. 17 North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 5:30 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.Confirmed by NC State Athletics recap, Nov. 8, 2026

Still unknown

  • How the scoring line's (4) beside Luca Nikolai relates to the recap calling the kick his fifth penalty of the season and a tidbit calling the goal his fifth of the season

What happened

In Chapel Hill, the ACC men's soccer quarterfinal is a road result. The No. 7 seed, North Carolina, beat the No. 2 seed, Clemson, 3-2 on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, at Historic Riggs Field in Clemson, S.C.

UNC's box score, Clemson's recap and the Daily Tar Heel all list that final. The sheet puts kickoff at noon and the crowd at 1,687. By period, the Tar Heels scored 2, 0, 0 and 1. Clemson scored 0, 2, 0 and 0. National ranks on the UNC recap are No. 17 and No. 3.

The record line is 9-2-6 and 3-1-4 in the ACC for North Carolina, and 13-3-2 and 6-1-1 for Clemson. UNC's write-up says the Heels have not lost in 10 matches, with seven wins inside that stretch, and that an 11-match unbeaten run for Clemson is finished.

Sunday's other quarterfinal is the matchup this site framed in NC State's 2-1 win over Virginia Tech. NC State's later recap says the Wolfpack won that game, 1-0. The score is in NC State's overtime win over Wake Forest.

Who scored

The first UNC goal is timed at 19:44. Nico Loebus scored it, with an assist from Nick Lockermann. The scoring line uses the spelling Nicolas Loebus. The school recap says he headed a clearance after three corners in a row, and that the goal was his second this season.

Bertil Rygaard Hansen made the lead 2-0 at 28:32. Joschi Schelb is the assist. Carolina's write-up calls that Hansen's second goal this season.

Clemson scored both of its goals after halftime. Martin Bakken's is at 51:59, with assists from Remi Okunlola and Ransford Gyan. Clemson counts that as Bakken's third this season. Gyan then tied the match at 69:15. Xander Sevian and Arthur Duquenne are the assists on the sheet. Both school recaps call Gyan's goal a header, and Clemson says it was his 14th of the year, the same figure as the (14) printed beside his name.

Luca Nikolai decided it with a penalty kick at 105:06, in the second overtime. The sheet lists no assist. UNC's recap places the kick in the 106th minute and calls it his fifth penalty this season. A note on that page also calls the goal his fifth this season. The scoring summary instead prints (4) by his name. Those figures stay separate here. Clemson wrote that the kick followed a reviewed and confirmed foul inside the penalty area.

Shots and saves

Clemson had 17 shots, 7 of them on goal. North Carolina had 10 shots, 4 on goal. Alan Rutkowski played every minute and the goalkeeping line gives him 5 saves. Gaizka Garcia's line is 1 save, also across 106 minutes. Corner kicks were 7 for the Tar Heels and 1 for the Tigers. Fouls were 10 and 17.

Thursday in Cary

UNC's note, written before the other quarterfinal was in this file, puts the semifinal on Thursday, Nov. 12, at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, against whoever wins that game. That recap lists kickoff as either 5:30 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. Eastern, on ACC Network. The Daily Tar Heel also puts the match in Cary on Thursday and does not name a winner.

NC State's athletics recap of its own quarterfinal names the opponent and the time. The Wolfpack play North Carolina on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the same park. That account is NC State's 1-0 overtime win.

A weekend roundup of college volleyball and soccer is already published. More Triangle sports is on this site. Orange County stories are on the county page.

Triangle Local is not UNC, Clemson, or the ACC.

Related coverage

Photos

Text-only. No athletics or student-newspaper photographs are used here.

Why it matters

Chapel Hill's ACC men's soccer team is in the conference semifinals, and the next match is against NC State in Cary. Readers need the official score, who scored, and the Thursday kickoff.

Updates

  1. Nov 8, 2026, 6:12 PM

    Added the Thursday opponent and 5:30 p.m. kickoff from the NC State Athletics recap of the Wake Forest quarterfinal. The original publication time is unchanged. The UNC recap's either-time sentence stays in the file.

  2. Nov 8, 2026, 4:08 PM

    First file from the UNC box score and recap, Clemson's recap, and the Daily Tar Heel. Nikolai's season figure is left as a conflict between the scoring line and the recap. No Wake Forest–NC State result is included.

Sources

  1. No. 17 Men's Soccer Outlast No. 3 Clemson, 3-2, In Two OTs (UNC Athletics recap, Nov. 8, 2026, Clemson, S.C., noon: 3-2 in two overtimes; No. 17 North Carolina 9-2-6, unbeaten in 10 with seven wins; No. 3 Clemson 13-3-2, 11-match unbeaten streak ended; Loebus header after three corners; Rygaard Hansen from Schelb; Bakken in the 52nd minute; Gyan header in the 70th; Nikolai penalty in the 106th minute, described as his fifth penalty of the season; tidbit also calls that goal his fifth of the season and 13th of his career; next is the Wake Forest–NC State winner Thursday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, 5:30 p.m. or 8:30 p.m., ACC Network. The recap does not say which quarterfinalist won. Text-only. No athletics photos used.)

    Official sourcePublished by UNC Athletics · Checked Nov 8, 2026, 4:08 PM

  2. Men's Soccer vs Clemson on 11/08/2026, box score (Final 3-2; Historic Riggs Field; noon; attendance 1,687; North Carolina 9-2-6, 3-1-4 ACC; Clemson 13-3-2, 6-1-1; periods UNC 2-0-0-1, Clemson 0-2-0-0; Nicolas Loebus 19:44 assist Nick Lockermann; Bertil Rygaard Hansen 28:32 assist Joschi Schelb; Martin Bakken 51:59 assists Remi Okunlola and Ransford Gyan; Ransford Gyan 69:15 assists Xander Sevian and Arthur Duquenne; Luca Nikolai penalty 105:06, unassisted, marked (4); shots 10 (4) and 17 (7); saves 5 and 1; corners 7 and 1; fouls 10 and 17; Alan Rutkowski 106 minutes, 5 saves; Gaizka Garcia 106 minutes, 1 save)

    Official sourcePublished by UNC Athletics · Checked Nov 8, 2026, 4:08 PM

  3. Tigers Drop ACC Quarterfinals, 3-2, to Tar Heels (Clemson Athletics recap, Nov. 8, 2026: No. 2 seed Clemson lost 3-2 to No. 7 seed North Carolina on Sunday afternoon at Historic Riggs Field; Clemson 13-3-2, North Carolina 9-2-6; shots 17-10; Gyan seven shots; Garcia one save; UNC led 2-0 at halftime after goals in the 20th and 29th minutes; Bakken in the 52nd minute, his third of the year; Gyan header in the 70th minute, his 14th; penalty awarded six minutes into the second overtime after a reviewed foul in the box, and North Carolina converted. Clemson's next note is NCAA seeding on Monday, Nov. 16, which this story does not use as a UNC fact. Text-only. No athletics photos used.)

    Official sourcePublished by Clemson Athletics · Checked Nov 8, 2026, 4:08 PM

  4. Seven-seed UNC men's soccer defeats 2-seed Clemson, 3-2, in double overtime to advance to ACC semifinals (The Daily Tar Heel / Cyrus Porter, Nov. 8, 2026: 3-2 in double overtime; No. 7 seed North Carolina 9-2-6, 3-1-4 ACC; No. 2 seed Clemson 13-3-2, 6-1-1; semifinal Thursday in Cary against the winner of 3-seed Wake Forest and 11-seed NC State. Play-by-play color that is not on the box score, including a described corner sequence and the placement of the penalty, is not used. No result of the other quarterfinal is taken from this story. Text-only. No Daily Tar Heel photos used.)

    Third-party sourcePublished by The Daily Tar Heel · Checked Nov 8, 2026, 4:08 PM

  5. Bush's Overtime Goal Sends NC State Past Wake Forest in ACC Tournament Quarterfinals (NC State Athletics recap, Nov. 8, 2026: used here only for the next match. 11-seed NC State plays 7-seed/No. 17 North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals Thursday, Nov. 12, at 5:30 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The recap does not use a sponsor name for that stadium. The 1-0 score is reported in the NC State file, not retold as a UNC box-score fact. Text-only. No athletics photos used.)

    Official sourcePublished by NC State Athletics · Checked Nov 8, 2026, 6:12 PM

More from Orange County

Orange County news

Related stories

File photo

Sports

Durham: South Carolina State beats N.C. Central 38-24

South Carolina State won 38-24 Saturday in Orangeburg. NCCU's schedule lists a 24-38 loss. The MEAC release says the Bulldogs clinched the league title and a Celebration Bowl berth. The wire does not use the word clinched.

File photo

Sports

Durham: Miami beats Duke 36-25

Miami won 36-25 Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. Duke's game page lists the quarters as 0-10-7-8 and 0-13-9-14. The Miami Herald labels the result final. The Associated Press prints the same score.

File photo

Sports

Raleigh: Syracuse beats NC State 34-31

Syracuse won 34-31 Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack led 28-13 in the third quarter. Calvin Russell III finished with 17 catches. The box lists 53,948 in the stands.