Grove City College Athletics

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's soccer team opened its 12-match Presidents' Athletic Conference schedule Wednesday afternoon by securing a 4-1 victory over visiting Bethany at Don Lyle Field.

Bethany (0-4, 0-1) grabbed an early 1-0 lead but Grove City rallied to lead 2-1 at halftime. Grove City (3-0-3) then sealed the win with a pair of goals in the second half as four different Wolverines scored in the victory.

Junior midfielder Luke Ladas (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany Hills) tied the match at 23:47 with his first goal of the season. Senior midfielder Noah Gray (Glen Mills, Pa./The Christian Academy) assisted on the Ladas goal.

Grove City surged ahead six minutes later when Gray scored an unassisted goal at 29:37. It is his second game-winning goal of the season and the 10th of his career. 

The Wolverines scored twice in a five-minute span of the second half to break open the match. Sophomore midfielder Owen Whitehead (Mesa, Ariz./Arete Prep) pushed the lead to 3-1 with a goal at 71:27, his second tally of the season. Sophomore Cristian Garcia (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) assisted the goal.

Sophomore forward Andrew Perry (Minnetrista, Minn./Southwest Christian) closed out the scoring at 76:14 with his first collegiate goal. Freshman midfielder Sean Mankowski (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) recorded the assist. 

Grove City outshot Bethany 38-4, including a 21-1 edge in the second half. Grove City had 15 shots on goal while Bethany posted two shots on goal. The Wolverines also accumulated a 17-2 margin in corner kicks.

Sophomore goalkeeper Caedmon Whipple (Canton, Mich./Plymouth Christian) earned the win by making one save. 

Fedgy Fertil gave Bethany its short-lived lead by scoring an unassisted goal at 20:25.

Gray's three-point outing Wednesday gives him 69 career points. He has moved into eighth place in Grove City program history. He is now tied for fifth in program history with 15 career assists while his 27 goals are tied for No. 9 on the career program leaderboard.

Grove City will visit conference foe Saint Vincent at 3 p.m. Saturday.