LATROBE, Pa. (Oct. 22) – The Saint Vincent women's soccer team was unable to sustain a hot start, falling 3-2 to Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Grove City on Senior Day at UPMC Field.
The Bearcats (6-6-3, 2-4-3 PAC) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but the Wolverines (9-6-1, 6-2-1) scored three unanswered goals, including two in a 10-minute span in the second half, to earn the comeback win.
Following the pregame ceremony honoring the senior trio of
Kylie Albertson,
Bella Ely and
Jessica Persin, the Bearcats kept the momentum, taking a 1-0 lead just 5:23 into play. A Grove City clearing attempt was picked off by SVC's
Brianna Mack, who blasted it inside the crossbar from 30 yards out for her first career goal.
The Saint Vincent offense continued to press, and it paid off in the 27th minute, as the Bearcats made the Wolverines pay for a foul just outside of the 18-yard box. Junior
Tanisha Grewal took the ensuing free kick, sending it directly onto goal and past the Grove City keeper for her team-leading ninth goal of the year, making it 2-0.
Just three minutes after Grewal's strike, the Wolverines answered back when Megan Mathes scored on a cross from Britta Lagerquist to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 17:49 left in the first half.
The Wolverines kept the momentum from the Lagerquist goal, out-shooting the Bearcats 4-1 over the final 15 minutes of the half, but were unable to add the equalizer heading into the break.
Grove City held a slim 9-6 advantage in shots over the first half, with Saint Vincent goalkeeper
Maggie Perkins turning in three saves.
The momentum stayed with the visitors following the intermission, as the Wolverines took three shots and two corner kicks over the opening seven minutes of the half. At the 54-minute mark, the Bearcats were whistled for a hand ball in front of the net, and Grove City's Emily White cashed in on the ensuing penalty kick to tie the game at 2-2.
After the game-tying goal, the Wolverines would keep control. Perkins made three saves over a five-minute span to keep the match deadlocked, but the Wolverines' Gianna D'Amato scored the go-ahead goal with just under 25 minutes left in regulation.
Perkins and the SVC defense kept the Wolverines at bay the rest of the way, but the Bearcat offense was unable to muster any scoring chances down the stretch in the one-goal defeat.
Perkins ended the afternoon with 10 saves, as Grove City closed with a 23-6 advantage in shots, including a 14-0 margin in the second half.
The Bearcats will now close out the regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 25, traveling to Pittsburgh to face Chatham at 5 p.m. It's a must-win for the Bearcats, who enter the season finale in seventh place in the PAC standings, one spot out of the six-team PAC Championship Tournament field.
