November 10, 2010
Grove City humbles W&J, 3-1
WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Southern Championship Tournament Wednesday night by earning a 3-1 victory over archrival Washington & Jefferson at Alexandre Stadium. The seventh-seeded Wolverines (14-5-2) scored three second-half goals in earning their first trip to the ECAC semifinals since 2006.
After a scoreless first half, Grove City took command of the match by scoring twice in a three-minute span. Senior Chuck Witt (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern) scored his 11th goal of the season at 52:18 to break the scoreless tie.
Less than three minutes later, senior defender Zach Barzanty (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) scored the eventual game-winner by heading in a corner kick from senior Alex Ford (Bridgeville, Pa./Kiski Prep) at 55:04.
W&J, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, cut the lead to 2-1 at 70:49 when Mike Pappas scored on a penalty kick. However, Grove City reclaimed its two-goal lead at 82:12 when sophomore forward Andrew Quinn (Damascus, Md./Damascus) scored an unassisted goal, his sixth score this year.
W&J (12-4-3) held a 13-12 edge in shots and a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks. For Grove City, freshman goalkeeper Chris Burgan (North Huntingdon, Pa./Trinity Christian) stopped six shots in earning his 14th win of the season.
Grove City's lone loss in Presidents' Athletic Conference play this season came at W&J, 2-1, in the conference opener October 2. W&J had not allowed more than one goal in any of its last 11 matches prior to Wednesday.
Grove City will now face either No. 3 Marywood or No. 6 Misericordia in the semifinals Saturday. The highest remaining seed after the quarterfinals will host the semifinals and finals this weekend.