GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Four Grove City College men's lacrosse players scored multiple goals Saturday to help lead the Wolverines to an 18-8 home victory Saturday afternoon over 2021 NCAA Championship Tournament quarterfinalist Illinois Wesleyan at Robert E. Thorn Field.

Senior midfielder Brett Gladstone (Marriottsville, Md./Marriotts Ridge) and freshman attack Matt Blythe (Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) each fired in four goals for the Wolverines (5-4) while junior attack James Petrolle (Damascus, Md./Damascus) scored three times. Senior midfielder Jed Speers (Medina, Ohio/Medina) added two goals.

Senior attack Michael La Forte (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) recorded a team-leading four assists and scored a goal. Senior midfielder Grant Evans (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper Saint Clair), senior Josh Snell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks), junior midfielder David Kraus (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) and sophomore midfielder Griffen Agawa (San Ramon, Calif./California) also entered the scoring column.

Grove City trailed 2-1 with less than seven minutes remaining in the first quarter before surging ahead with five goals in less than five minutes. Speers tied the game with 6:16 left in the quarter while La Forte put Grove City up with 5:10 remaining. Five seconds later, Evans scored after winning a faceoff.

Speers and Snell scored to extend the lead to 6-2. In the second quarter, Blythe and Agawa extended the lead to 8-2 with goals in the first five minutes.

Grove City led 9-5 at halftime and then broke open the game with a 6-1 edge in the third quarter. 

Gladstone and freshman midfielder Trey Zabroski (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) both tallied two assists. Blythe, Petrolle and freshman midfielder Alec Jones (Chesterfield, N.J./Notre Dame) each chalked up an assist.

Evans won 17 of 22 faceoffs and led the Wolverines with 12 ground balls. Sophomore goalie Danny Stone (Chantilly, Va./Flint Hill) picked up six ground balls. Blythe and Gladstone each secured four ground balls. Kraus, Speers and senior long stick midfielder Addison Bennett (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield) all added three ground balls.

Bennett led Grove City with three caused turnovers. Illinois Wesleyan (3-4) finished with 13 turnovers while Grove City had 20 turnovers.

Grove City held a 64-48 edge in total shots and a 35-25 advantage in shots on goal. Stone stopped a career-high 17 shots to earn the win. 

Grove City will host No. 14 Denison at 7 p.m. March 30 in non-conference action.