CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Grove City College women's soccer team closed the 2023 season by dropping a 5-1 decision Saturday afternoon at Case Western Reserve in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament at DiSanto Field.
Grove City, making its sixth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, concludes the season with a 14-5-1 overall record.
The Wolverines broke through at the 82:27 mark when junior forward
Natalie Merrick (Cranberry Township, Pa./Eden Christian) scored her third goal of the season. Senior defender
Rachel Sullivan (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) assisted Merrick's goal.
Case Western Reserve, the defending national runner-up, took a 1-0 lead at 19:04 when Alexis Sassower scored an unassisted goal.
The Spartans (12-1-4) then broke open the game by scoring three times in a 12-minute span of the second half. Ceci Dapino scored at 53:50 while Carolyn Koutures followed with a goal at 59:56. Helina Van Bibber pushed the lead to 4-0 with a goal at 65:04.
CWRU's Maggie Farra closed the scoring at 88:19.
Junior goalkeeper
Courtney Lisman (Mars, Pa./Mars) made 10 saves. Case Western Reserve held a 32-3 edge in total shots. The Spartans had 11 corner kicks while Grove City had two corners.
Case Western Reserve will face Cleveland area rival John Carroll in Sunday's second round. The Blue Streaks blanked Cortland State in Saturday's second match, 3-0.
Grove City also qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2002, 2003, 2012, 2018 and 2019. The Wolverines won their first Presidents' Athletic Conference title since 2019 this season.
