September 29, 2012
Grove City opens league play with shutout win
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College men's soccer team opened Presidents' Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon with a 4-0 victory over visiting Bethany at College Field.
Grove City (4-6, 1-0 PAC) took a 1-0 lead at the 20:31 mark when senior midfielder Alex Ayer (Farmington, Conn./Farmington) scored his first goal of the season. Ayer broke the scoreless tie after receiving a pass from freshman Tim Shackleton (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley).
The Wolverines then broke open the match with a pair of successive goals in the second half. Freshman Seth Loew (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh) scored on a breakaway at 55:01, pushing the lead to 2-0. Junior defender Daniel Adams (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) assisted Loew's goal.
The lead grew to 3-0 just 67 seconds later when sophomore Mike Shupp (Ephrata, Pa./Lititz Christian) scored an unassisted goal at 56:08.
Loew helped seal the win with his second goal of the match when he scored on a rebound at 77:17. He has a team-leading four goals this year.
Grove City owned an 18-9 edge in shots. The Wolverines had 11 corner kicks while Bethany (1-7-1, 0-1) had three. In goal, freshman Ben Weaver (York, Pa./Dallastown) secured the shutout by making seven saves.
Grove City improved to 15-9-5 all-time in Presidents' Athletic Conference openers. The Wolverines have now recorded consecutive shutout wins at home.
Grove City hosts conference rival Thomas More Wednesday at 1 p.m. at College Field.