November 10, 2012
Grove City earns NCAA Tournament win
GRANTHAM, Pa. -- The Grove City College women's soccer team captured its first-ever NCAA Division III Championship Tournament victory Saturday afternoon as the Wolverines pulled out a 1-0 overtime victory over Western Connecticut State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Messiah College.
Grove City will now face Messiah, the defending national champion, at 5 p.m. Sunday in the second round of the tournament. Messiah defeated Roger Williams 2-1 in Saturday's other match.
Junior forward Sam Weber (Freeport, Pa./Freeport) scored the game-winning goal 1 minute, 27 seconds into overtime. Weber received a feed from junior forward Chelsea Tarolli (Syracuse, N.Y./Marcellus) near the edge of the penalty box and then blasted the ball past Western Connecticut goalkeeper Caitlyn Avery.
Weber now has a team-leading 13 goals this year, including four game-winners. Tarolli tallied her fifth assist of the season.
In goal, sophomore Kristi Lathrop (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) stopped three shots in earning the Wolverines' 11th shutout of the season. Each team had eight shots and Grove City held a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.
Grove City (16-3-2 overall) is making its third all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines fell in the opening round in both 2002 and 2003. Saturday's match marked the first time that the Wolverines have gone to overtime in postseason play.
Grove City's 16 wins this year match the single-season program record. The 2003 team finished 16-5-1 and the 2007 team went 16-4-1.
The Wolverines will be playing their first-ever match against Messiah, which owns a 19-1-1 overall record.
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