GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's soccer team opened the 2024 season Friday night with a 3-0 home victory over Penn State Altoona in non-conference action at Don Lyle Field.

The match featured a two-hour weather delay due to thunderstorms one minute into the first half. When action resumed, Grove City unleashed its version of thunder and lightning as sophomore midfielder Noah Gray (Glen Mills, Pa./The Christian Academy) and senior midfielder John-Luc Harbour (Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield) both scored in a nine-minute span.

Gray opened the scoring at 16:53 after receiving an assist from senior forward Luke Kimmich (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional). Harbour pushed the lead to 2-0 when he scored at 25:16. Junior forward Daniel Sharp (Zagreb, Croatia/XV Gymnasium) assisted Harbour's goal.

The Wolverines added an insurance goal 4:46 into the second half when senior forward Jordan Rebsamen (Charlotte, N.C./Carmel Christian) scored an unassisted goal.

Defensively, Grove City (1-0) held the Lions (0-1) to no shots on goal and only one total shot. Grove City held a 12-1 edge in total shots and a 7-1 shots on goal advantage. 

The Wolverines also had seven corner kicks while Penn State Altoona had two corners. 

Junior Teddy Almeter (Monroeville, Pa./Serra) earned the win by playing 75:19 in goal. Sophomore Anthony D'Ippolito (Mars, Pa./Eden Christian) played the final 14:41 of the shutout.

Grove City is now 5-2-4 in its last 11 openers. The all-time series with Penn State Altoona is now tied 2-2-2. The teams had not played in 15 years. 

Grove City returns to action Wednesday night at Oberlin. The non-conference match starts at 7:00 p.m.