Photo by Aaron Cranford

By AARON CRANFORD

Clemson and Louisville surprised favorites Notre Dame and Syracuse to set up a meeting in the ACC Championship final Sunday (2 p.m. ESPNU).

Clemson went down in the 26th minute as Fighting Irish forward Leon Brown slotted a ball past Tigers goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell, but the Tigers had a hero. Just inside the 89th minute, Bobby Belair headed in the equalizer, sending the team into a frenzy.

Neither side found a golden goal, and at the end of overtime Clemson subbed in goalkeeper Chris Glodack to face the Fighting Irish’s penalty-kick takers. Glodack saved three, giving the Tigers the 5-4 penalty-kick victory.

“Chris (Glodack) has done this now for four times,” Clemson head coach Mike Noonan said after the match. “It is an easy decision for me because he is so good at it. Chris epitomizes what our team is. Every player on our team plays a role.”

Meanwhile, Louisville topped Syracuse, 2-1, while Ricardo Velazco grabbed another assist and added a goal to his ACC Championship resume. Velazco set up the goal in Louisville’s win against North Carolina in the ACC Championship quarterfinals, and he realizes he is finally reaching his full potential.

“At the beginning of the year, I was struggling a little bit, trying to find myself,” Velazco said. “I have had good mentors to help me out through the year, and I’m finally starting to get in form, starting to play well.”

Check out all of the college conference finals across the country below:

BIG TEN CONFERENCE

First Round (Saturday)

Rutgers 5, Wisconsin 2. (Recap)

Quarterfinals (Sunday)

Maryland 2, Rutgers 0. (Recap)

Penn State 0, Michigan State 1. (Recap)

Northwestern 1, Indiana 1. (Indiana won, 5-4, in PKs) (Recap)

Ohio State 1, Michigan 0. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

Indiana 2, Ohio State 1. (Recap)

Maryland 0, Michigan State 0. (Maryland won, 3-2, in PKs) (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

12:30 p.m. — Indiana vs. Maryland (At Ludwig Field, College Park, MD)

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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE

Quarterfinals (Sunday)

Notre Dame 3, Virginia 0. (Recap)

Clemson 1, Wake Forest 1. (Clemson won, 3-2, in PKs) (Recap)

North Carolina 0, Louisville 1. (Recap)

Syracuse 2, Duke 0. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

Notre Dame 1, Clemson 1. (Clemson won, , in PKs) (Recap)

Syracuse 1, Louisville 2. (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

2 p.m. — Clemson vs. Louisville (At WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, NC) (ESPNU)

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BIG EAST CONFERENCE

First Round (Tuesday)

Georgetown 2, Marquette 1. (Recap)

Providence 2, Villanova 1. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

Creighton 0, Providence 1. (Recap)

Xavier 1, Georgetown 0. (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

5 p.m. — Providence vs. Xavier (At PPL Park in Chester, PA) (Fox Sports 2)

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AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Quarterfinals (Saturday)

UConn 5, Temple 0. (Recap)

USF 4, Memphis 2. (Recap)

UCF 0, SMU 4. (Recap)

Cincinnati 0, Tulsa 1. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

Tulsa 2, SMU 0. (Recap)

UConn 0, USF 0. (USF won, 2-0, in PKs) (Recap)

Finals (Sunday)

12 p.m. — Tulsa vs. USF (At Joseph J. Morrone Stadium, Storrs, CT) (ESPN3)

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ATLANTIC 10

Quarterfinals (Thursday)

Rhode Island 1, Dayton 0. (Recap)

George Mason 0, Davidson 0. (George Mason won, 4-2, in PKs) (Recap)

Saint Louis 3, La Salle 1. (Recap)

VCU 0, Fordham 0. (Fordham won, 5-3, in PKs) (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

Rhode Island 2, George Mason 1. (2OT) (Recap)

Saint Louis 1, Fordham 2. (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

1 p.m. — Rhode Island vs. Fordham (At Sports Backers Stadium, Richmond, VA)

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AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE

Quarterfinals (Saturday)

Albany 1, Vermont 2. (Recap)

Binghamton 1, Stony Brook 1. (Binghamton won, 4-3, in PKs) (Recap)

Semifinals (Wednesday)

Hartford 2, Binghamton 1. (OT) (Recap)

UMBC 3, Vermont 1. (Recap)

Final (Saturday)

7 p.m. — UMBC vs. Hartford

——————

ATLANTIC SUN CONFERENCE

Quarterfinals (Wednesday)

North Florida 5, USC Upstate 0. (Recap)

Stetson 0, Northern Kentucky 1. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

FGCU 2, Northern Kentucky 0. (Recap)

Lipscomb 0, North Florida 3. (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

12 p.m. — FGCU vs. North Florida (At Lipscomb Soccer Complex, Nashville, TN) (ESPN3)

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BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE

Quarterfinals (Tuesday)

Radford 2, Campbell 0. (Recap)

Winthrop 4, Liberty 1. (Recap)

Coastal Carolina 2, Longwood 1. (Recap)

High Point 2, UNC Ashville 0. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

Radford 1, Winthrop 1. (Radford won, 4-1, in PKs) (Recap)

Coastal Carolina 4, High Point 1. (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

2 p.m. — Radford vs. Coastal Carolina (At Bryan Park, Greensboro, NC) (ESPN3)

——————

BIG WEST CONFERENCE

Quarterfinals (Saturday)

UC Davis 1, Cal State Fullerton 2. (Recap)

UC Irvine 2, Sacramento State 0. (Recap)

Semifinals (Wednesday)

UC Riverside 0, Cal State Fullerton 3. (Recap)

UC Santa Barbara 2, UC Irvine 3. (Recap)

Final (Saturday)

7 p.m. — UC Irvine vs. Cal State Fullerton (Anteater Stadium)

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COLONIAL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

Quarterfinals (Saturday)

James Madison 2, Hofstra 0. (Recap)

Northeastern 2, Elon 0. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

James Madison 2, UNC Wilmington 0. (Recap)

Northeastern 0, Delaware 1 (OT) (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

1 p.m. — Delaware vs. James Madison (At Stuart & Suzanne Grant Stadium, Newark, DE)

——————

CONFERENCE USA

Quarterfinals (Wednesday)

Kentucky 1, South Carolina 2. (Recap)

UAB 1, Marshall 0. (Recap)

Old Dominion 2, New Mexico 1. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

South Carolina 1, UAB 0. (Recap)

Charlotte 1, Old Dominion 2. (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

2 p.m. — South Carolina vs. Old Dominion (At ODU Soccer Complex, Norfolk, VA) (Fox Sports Net)

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HORIZON LEAGUE

Quarterfinals (Monday)

Wright State 1, Milwaukee 0. (Recap)

Cleveland State 0, Valparaiso 0. (Cleveland State won, 4-3, in PKs) (Recap)

Semifinals (Thursday)

Detroit 0, Wright State 2. (Recap)

Oakland 2, Cleveland State 1. (2OT) (Recap)

Final (Saturday)

6 p.m. — Wright State vs. Oakland (At Oakland University Soccer Field, Rochester Hills, MI) (ESPN3)

——————

METRO-ATLANTIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Final (Sunday)

12 p.m. — Fairfield vs. Monmouth

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MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

Semifinals (Friday)

West Virginia 2, Bowling Green 3. (OT) (Recap)

Akron 2, Western Michigan 1. (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

1 p.m. — Bowling Green vs. Akron (At Lee R. Jackson Field, Akron, OH)

——————

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE

Quarterfinals (Wednesday)

Drake 1, Loyola 3. (Recap)

Evansville 0, Bradley 1. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

Missouri State 2, Loyola 0. (Recap)

SIUE 2, Bradley 1. (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

1 p.m. — Missouri State vs. SIUE (At Shea Stadium, Peoria, IL) (ESPN3)

——————

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE

Semifinals (Friday)

St. Francis University 1, LIU Brooklyn 0. (Recap)

Bryant 0, St. Francis Brooklyn 2. (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

1 p.m. — St. Francis University vs. St. Frances Brooklyn (At Degol Field)

——————

PATRIOT LEAGUE

Quarterfinals (Tuesday)

American 0, Army 0. (Army wins, 4-3, in PKs) (Recap)

Lehigh 0, Bucknell 4. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

Boston U. 1, Army 0. (2OT) (Recap)

Navy 0, Bucknell 0. (Bucknell won, 5-4, in PKs) (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

1 p.m. — Boston U. vs. Bucknell (At Nickerson Field, Boston, MA)

——————

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

Quarterfinals (Saturday)

ETSU 1, UNCG 2. (2OT) (Recap)

VMI 0, Furman 1. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

Wofford 0, Furman 1. (Recap)

Mercer 1, UNCG 0. (2OT) (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

7 p.m. — Furman vs. Mercer (At UNCG Soccer Stadium, Greensboro, NC) (ESPN3)

——————

SUMMIT LEAGUE

Semifinals (Friday)

Oral Roberts 1, Western Illinois 2. (Recap)

Denver 3, Fort Wayne 0. (Recap)

Final (Saturday)

1 p.m. — Denver vs. Western Illinois (At Ciber Field, Denver, CO) (ESPN3)

——————

SUN BELT CONFERENCE

First Round (Thursday)

NJIT 0, Appalachian State 1. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

Hartwick 2, Appalachian State 0. (Recap)

Georgia State 1, Georgia Southern 2. (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

1 p.m. — Georgia Southern vs. Hartwick (At Eagle Field, Stateboro, GA) (ESPN3)

——————

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Quarterfinals (Thursday)

UMKC 3, San Jose State 0. (Recap)

Utah Valley 0, Bakersfield 1. (Recap)

Semifinals (Friday)

UNLV 3, UMKC 0. (Recap)

Seattle 1, Bakerfield 1. (Seattle won, 4-3, in PKs) (Recap)

Final (Sunday)

1 p.m. — UNLV vs. Seattle (At Championship Field, Seattle, WA)