LATROBE, Pa. (March 29) – In a rematch of the 2022 Presidents' Athletic Conference championship game, visiting Grove City edged Saint Vincent, 15-12, at UPMC Field.
In a game that saw 10 ties and 11 lead changes, the Wolverines (3-7, 2-0 PAC) outscored SVC (7-2, 0-1 PAC) 4-1 over the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter to pull away for the win.
Jacob Visalli led Saint Vincent with four points, on three goals and one assist, while Jacob Crumling (two goals, one assist), Justin Wodarek (1G, 2A), Matthew Cassidy (1G, 2A), and Jordan Billet (1G, 2A) each tallied three-point days.
Jonathan Nagy scored two goals, while Andrew Coholich and Caleb Hawkins each found the net once.
Brody McMahon finished with a game-high four caused turnovers for SVC, while Max Schuler collected four ground balls. Noah Sperling played all 60 minutes in goal for the Bearcats, recording 11 saves, while Brady Beard won 15 faceoffs and collected a team-best nine ground balls.
Saint Vincent took the game's first lead in an evenly played first quarter, with Coholich scoring the game's first goal 3:53 into regulation. After the Wolverines tied it with 8:22 left in the quarter, Crumling scored with 1:54 left in the frame to give SVC a 2-1 lead.
Cassidy's goal, off of a Billet feed, gave SVC a 3-1 lead five minutes into the second quarter, before Visalli scored twice in a 30-second span to increase the Bearcat advantage to 5-2 with 4:28 left in the half. The Wolverines would then seize the momentum, scoring five unanswered goals to take a 7-5 lead into the intermission.
The Bearcats opened the second half with a flurry, with Billet, Hawkins and Wodarek scoring unanswered goals five minutes apart to put SVC back in front, 8-7, with 5:24 left. The Wolverines countered with a pair of quick goals to take a one-goal lead, but Crumling struck in the closing seconds of the frame to tie the game at 9-all heading into the fourth quarter.
The back-and-forth theme continued in the early stages of the fourth, with Grove City taking a 10-9 lead 63 seconds into the quarter and the Bearcats answering with goals from Visalli and Nagy to jump in front 11-10. The Wolverines would respond with three unanswered goals over the next five minutes to take a 13-11 lead, before Nagy's second goal of the game pulled SVC to within one, 13-12, with just over five minutes left. The hosts would get no closer, however, as the Wolverines produced two goals over the game's final four minutes to close out the victory.
Grove City ended with a slim 41-38 advantage in shots, while the Bearcats collected 21 ground balls to the Wolverines' 16. Both teams went an even 15-for-15 on faceoffs.
Saint Vincent will look to snap its two-game losing streak on Saturday, April 1, when it welcomes PAC rival Washington & Jefferson to UPMC Field for an 11 a.m. bout.
