GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Sophomore forward
Tori Stevenson (Butler, Pa./Butler) recorded her first collegiate hat trick while senior midfielder
Emma Herrmann (Hilton, N.Y./Paul V. Moore) scored on a pair of penalty kicks Wednesday night to help the Grove City College women's soccer team capture a 6-2 victory over visiting Allegheny (12-7-1) in the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Tournament semifinals at Don Lyle Field.
Senior forward
Britta Lagerquist (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) added a goal and an assist in Wednesday night's win for the second-seeded Wolverines (12-3-3), who will face top-seeded Westminster in Saturday's championship match. The Titans edged No. 4 Saint Vincent in Wednesday's other semifinal clash, 1-0.
Herrmann gave Grove City a 1-0 at 19:13 after converting the first of her two penalty kicks. Stevenson pushed the lead to 2-0 at 21:45 after receiving a feed from Lagerquist. Three minutes later, the lead swelled to 3-0 as Herrmann blasted another corner kick into the goal for her 20th goal of the season.
Third-seeded Allegheny cut the lead to 3-1 with exactly 18 minutes left in the half on Emma Miller's unassisted goal. Grove City answered 3:58 later, though, as Stevenson scored her second goal. Senior midfielder
Erin Venus (Medina, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) assisted Stevenson's goal.
Grove City added to its 4-1 halftime lead in the first minute of the second half when Stevenson completed her hat trick at 45:43. Sophomore defender
Meghan Tischler (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) assisted the goal, Stevenson's 10th of the season.
Allegheny's Olivia Wilson scored from close range at 64:14 but Lagerquist sewed up the win with an unassisted goal at 84:28. Her sharp angle shot deflected off Gator goalie Madison Lemanski and into the net.
Grove City out-shot Allegheny, 16-10. That included a 9-6 margin in shots on goal. Allegheny netted four corner kicks while Grove City had three corners.
Senior goalkeeper
Courtney Lisman (Mars, Pa./Mars) made four saves to earn her 45th career victory.
Grove City's six goals are the most by a conference team in a tournament match since 2004, when Washington & Jefferson blanked Bethany, 7-0.
Herrmann now has 40 career goals. She also scored 20 goals last year and is the first player in program history to score 20 goals in multiple seasons. She is fourth in program history in career goals. Her 88 career points are No. 5 all-time at Grove City. Lagerquist tallied her 24th career assist in Wednesday's win. She ranks fifth in program history in career assists.
Grove City finished 8-0-2 in conference play while Westminster went 9-0-1 in the league. The teams played to a 2-2 draw October 11 at Don Lyle Field.
Saturday's championship match will start at 4 p.m. in New Wilmington. It's the fifth time that the longtime rivals will meet in the championship game. Grove City captured the 2018 conference title by advancing past Westminster in a penalty kick shootout. Westminster won the 2004 title over Grove City in a penalty kick shootout. The teams also met in the 2002 and 2003 tournament title matches.