STATESBORO, Ga. - A Georgia Southern men's soccer team that played with 10 men for more than 75 minutes nearly pulled off the improbable, but No. 5 Clemson netted the match-winner with just seven seconds left in overtime for a 2-1 win on Monday night before a record crowd of 1,237 fans at Eagle Park.

The Tigers remained unbeaten on the season at 4-0 with the last-second win, while Georgia Southern falls to 1-3 to open the young campaign. The Eagles will return to action on September 8, hosting the Coastal Empire Challenge in Savannah, Ga., taking on Houston Baptist at 7:30 p.m. at the Armstrong State Soccer Field.

In Clemson's first trip to Statesboro, the matchup was anticipated to be a tight one after the two teams played a 1-0 contest last season in Clemson. The Tigers scored the winning goal in the 84th minute of that contest, and this match opened up tight with only one shot between the two teams in the first 20 minutes of action.

The match saw its first turning point in the 25th minute as freshman Alhaji Tambadu was whistled for a foul at midfield, resulting in his second yellow card of the match. Tambadu had accumulated his first yellow card in the 17th minute and the sending off forced the host Eagles to play with just 10 men for the rest of the evening.

Clemson took advantage less than two minutes later as Harrison Kurtz' corner kick found Justin Malou in the box, who headed it home for his first goal of the season and the 1-0 lead for the visiting Tigers in the 27th minute.

The host Eagles had their best first-half chance in the 32nd minute, but Adam Abdellaoui's shot was turned aside by Clemson keeper Ximo Miralles. Clemson held a 3-1 edge in shots at the break and had four corner kicks.

Not even five minutes into the second half, Aldair Cortes brought the ball into the left side of the box for Georgia Southern, and Clemson fouled the freshman to set up a penalty kick for the Eagles. Sophomore Josh Bronstorph stepped to the spot and beat Miralles high to even the match at 1-1 in the 50th minute.

Clemson had a golden chance to get the winner late, in the 84th minute - as in last year's meeting - but Trey Langlois' shot was saved off the line by freshman defender Gonzalo Talavera, keeping the match alive.

In the first overtime period, Clemson had the first three shots, but a foul on the Tigers set up a free kick for the Eagles from about 28 yards out. Bronstorph took the free kick and bent it towards the upper corner, but it sailed high by just a couple of feet.

With time winding down in the first overtime period, Clemson's last attack proved to be the match winner. Diego Campos made a sliding cross across the box to a wide open Kimarni Smith, who flicked home the goal with seven seconds left in the period to give the No. 5-ranked Tigers the win.

"Tonight was a tough result for us, but we showed a great deal of character after digging a hole for ourselves in the first half," Head Coach John Murphy said. "I couldn't be more proud of this team, from the guys who played the entire game, to those that were in street clothes cheering from the side. I felt captain Thor Sveinbjornsson was the man of the match for us, and I was quite pleased with Josh Bronstorph's performance as well."

Clemson finished the match with a 16-4 edge in shots. Torgeir Fjaer entered the match after halftime and made three saves in 54:53 minutes of action, while Miralles made one save in net for the Tigers. Clemson held a 9-1 edge in corner kicks and was whistled for 18 fouls, compared to 14 for the Eagles. In all, there were eight cards awarded on the night, including the red shown to Tambadu.

"All of us would like to thank the fans that attended as the atmosphere was electric throughout the night," Murphy said. "We will assess our effort and start to prepare for Houston Baptist tomorrow morning. Regardless, we certainly grew as a team tonight."