November 7, 2007
Wolverines advance to ECAC semifinals
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College women's soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference Southern Championship Tournament by pulling out a 3-2 victory over visiting Juniata in an ECAC quarterfinal match at College Field Wednesday afternoon. Top-seeded Grove City (16-3-1) will now host either No. 4 Widener or No. 5 Catholic Saturday at 11 a.m. in the ECAC semifinals. Juniata, the No. 8 seed, finishes the season with a 9-6-3 record.
Juniata jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 23:19 as Lauren Brant scored an unassisted goal after collecting a loose ball in front of the net. However, Grove City tied the match four minutes later as senior Bethany Peck (Abingdon, Md./Bel Air) scored her first goal of 2007.
The Wolverines then seized the lead at 39:45 on an unassisted goal by junior Stephanie Wild (Carmel, Ind./Heritage Christian). Wild scored from the left side of the box, giving Grove City a 2-1 halftime lead.
Grove City extended its lead to 3-1 at 82:12 as sophomore Michelle Peck (Abingdon, Md./Bel Air) headed in a corner kick by junior defender Sara Griffin (Marilla, N.Y./Nardin Academy). It is Michelle Peck's third game-winning goal of the season.
Juniata cut the lead in half at 85:31 as Caitlin Bigelow scored off Laura Goodlander's free kick. Grove City held off the Eagles for the final 4:29, though, to record the win.
Junior goalkeeper Diana Pragel (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Arcadia) stopped six shots for the Wolverines. Grove City owned a 14-13 edge in shots. Both teams had two corner kicks.
The victory is Grove City's first-ever postseason win. As the tournament's top seed, Grove City will host the semifinal and final rounds this weekend at College Field. Saturday's other semifinal will start at 2 p.m. The semifinal winners will play Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at College Field for the ECAC title.
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