GROVE CITY, Pa. -- For the eighth time in its 31-year history, the Grove City College women's soccer team sits atop the Presidents' Athletic Conference.
Saturday afternoon, the Wolverines erased an early deficit in charging past visiting Franciscan, 4-2, in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament title match at Don Lyle Field. It is Grove City's first conference crown since 2019. The win also secures Grove City's sixth all-time NCAA Division III Championship Tournament berth.
Junior forward
Emma Herrmann (Hilton, N.Y./Paul V. Moore) scored twice for the top-seeded Wolverines (14-4-1) while classmate
Britta Lagerquist (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) added a goal and two assists. Freshman midfielder
Tori Stevenson (Butler, Pa./Butler) added a goal and an assist for Grove City, which extended its win streak to nine matches.
Sixth-seeded Franciscan (8-8-2) snagged a 1-0 lead at 22:23 when Gabriella de la Torre scored her fifth goal of the season. Grove City forged a 1-1 tie 12 minutes later when Stevenson scored the equalizer at 34:23. Lagerquist assisted Stevenson's score, her fifth goal of the year.
Herrmann gave Grove City a 2-1 lead at 42:04 when she converted a penalty kick. The Wolverines then doubled the lead 17 seconds into the second half as Lagerquist scored an unassisted goal.
Franciscan cut the lead to 3-2 at 46:46, though as de la Torre scored an unassisted goal. However, Herrmann helped sew up the win by scoring her 20th goal of the season at the 66:52 mark. Lagerquist and Stevenson both had assists on the score.
Grove City held a 10-8 edge in shots on goal. Franciscan outshot Grove City overall, 20-16. The Barons had five corner kicks while Grove City had three corners.
Junior goalkeeper
Courtney Lisman (Mars, Pa./Mars) earned her program-record 35th career victory by making six saves. Senior defender
Rachel Sullivan (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) helped preserve Grove City's lead in the second half by clearing a likely goal off of the back line.
Herrmann's 20 goals this season are No. 2 on Grove City's single-season scoring list, as are her 43 points. Lagerquist leads Grove City with 10 assists, which is tied for fifth on Grove City's single-season list. Stevenson leads Grove City's rookies with five goals and 12 total points.
Grove City also won conference titles in 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2018 and 2019. The Wolverines previously qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2002, 2003, 2012, 2018 and 2019. Grove City's destination in the NCAA Tournament will be announced Monday afternoon.
