GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The wait is over.

Twenty years after winning its last Presidents' Athletic Conference championship, the Grove City College men's soccer team returned to the top of the conference Saturday afternoon by downing visiting Franciscan in the conference tournament title match, 1-0, at Don Lyle Field. 

The win gives top-seeded Grove City (15-2-2) the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. It is Grove City's 10th straight victory. The win also extends Grove City's unbeaten streak to 15 games (14-0-1).

The Wolverines broke through at 16:54 of the first half when senior midfielder Aidan Eck (Akron, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) blasted in his sixth goal of the season. Eck scored after consecutive passes from sophomores Luke Ladas (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany Hills) and Evan Yoder (Milton, Pa./Milton).

No. 2 seed Franciscan (10-9-2) had an early chance to take the lead at 11:45 after a Grove City foul in the penalty area. However, freshman goalkeeper Keller Krieger (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence) stonewalled Franciscan's Lucas Cross on a penalty kick, preserving the 0-0 tie.

Krieger (14-1-2) made eight saves to secure his seventh shutout of the season. He lowered his goals-against average to 0.49 in Saturday's victory.

Grove City outshot Franciscan, 14-11, although the Barons held an 8-6 edge in shots on goal. Franciscan had six corner kicks while Grove City recorded two corner kicks.

Four of Eck's six goals this season have been game-winners. Ladas and Yoder both have two assists.

This is Grove City's third all-time Presidents' Athletic Conference title. Grove City shared the 1996 title with Bethany during the pre-conference tournament era. Current head coach Mike Dreves co-captained the 1996 team. Nine years later, Grove City won its first conference tournament title with a 2-1 triumph at Washington & Jefferson in Dr. Don Lyle's final season as head coach.

The Wolverines will be making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1980. The league did not have automatic berths to the national playoffs until 2008. The NCAA Division III Tournament pairings will be announced Monday at 11 a.m.