FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas soccer is back in the state where it won a second-round NCAA Tournament game for the only time in the program's existence.
The Razorbacks beat St. John's 1-0 in the 2013 second round in Durham, N.C. About 10 miles away, they will try to replicate that feat today.
NCAA Soccer Tournament
No. 17 Arkansas vs. No. 12 Clemson
WHEN 2 p.m. Central
WHERE Fetzer Field, Chapel Hill, N.C.
RECORDS Arkansas 18-5; Clemson 14-4-3
SERIES First meeting
INTERNET ESPN3.com
NOTABLE Arkansas is 1-1 in the NCAA second round
Arkansas (18-5) is scheduled to play Clemson (14-4-3) at 2 p.m. at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C. The winner will advance to play Sunday against the winner of tonight's game between North Carolina and Kansas.
"It's always in the back of your mind," Arkansas Coach Colby Hale said of being back in North Carolina. "We probably had five or six of our [current] players there.
"UNC is [a] historical place. They've won 20 national championships, so this is a cool place to be."
The Razorbacks are coming off a 2-1 overtime victory over Memphis last Friday in the first round. Arkansas trailed for 45 minutes, but tied the game in the 88th minute on a goal by Jessi Hetzler and won less than five minutes later on Lindsey Mayo's header in overtime.
It was the Razorbacks' 12th victory by one goal this year.
"I think they just have resilience," Hale said. "They have bought into our core values and who we want to be. We've got good leadership and the young players are playing well. It's just a team effort.
"There's belief under any circumstance that we're going to win."
Clemson advanced to the second round with a 1-0 victory over Northeastern on Sunday. It was the fifth shutout this season for Tigers goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, who was named first-team All-ACC earlier this month.
Arkansas and Clemson will be playing for the first time, but the teams have played against four common opponents this season. The Razorbacks were 3-2 against Duke, South Carolina, Georgia and Auburn, while the Tigers were 3-1 in those games.
"Some of those games were so early in the season and teams change a lot," Hale said. "So we watched some of those games, but mostly we've tried to find recent video on them and get a feel for who they are and what we need to do to win."
The Razorbacks will be without senior midfielder Claire Kelley for the second consecutive game. Kelley suffered a lower-body injury during the SEC Tournament final against Florida and didn't play in the Razorbacks' first-round game against Memphis. Kelley has scored eight goals and leads the NCAA with 13 assists this season.
Hale said Arkansas' ability to create from set pieces helps compensate for Kelley's absence. The Razorbacks scored their goals against Memphis off a corner kick and a free kick.
"We create a lot from set pieces," Hale said. "We've got some other kids that can serve the ball quite well and head. We've still got two center backs [Mayo and Kayla McKeon] that have scored 19 goals. I think the team is in a pretty good place."
Sports on 11/18/2016