TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - With victories in the semifinal round Wednesday night, No. 1 seed Franciscan University and No. 3 seed Grove City College advanced to Saturday's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Soccer Tournament Championship match.

The Barons (12-1-5) used three first-half goals by junior Lucas Cross (Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate) to build a commanding lead and went on to a 4-2 victory over fourth-seeded Allegheny College (7-11-3). Going on the road, the Wolverines took an early lead with a goal in the 10th minute and made it stand behind a stellar defensive effort for a 1-0 win at defending league champion and second-seeded Geneva College (12-1-5).

Saturday's championship match between Franciscan and Grove City will begin at 7 pm on Franciscan's campus in Steubenville, Ohio, and be broadcast live by the PAC Sports Network. 

Franciscan grabbed the lead almost immediately in their match, with Cross getting a piece of a Ryan Miller (Galena, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin) free kick to deflect it into the goal just 2:18 into the match. Cross would complete the natural hat trick by halftime, scoring again in the 19th minute and netting his third goal in the 34th minute off an assist from junior Julien Freeman (Greenville, S.C./Powdersville). Even though the Barons only had a 7-5 advantage in first-half shots, they carried a 3-0 lead into halftime. 

That lead swelled to 4-0 in the 56th minute when Baron junior Augustine Rubino (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) set up senior Joe St. George (Ashburn, Va./Bishop O'Connell) for the final Franciscan goal of the night. Allegheny did manage to trim their deficit in half on goals by senior Colin Elder (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) and sophomore Will Gruca (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) in the final 15 minutes, but Franciscan would close out the win and clinch their third trip to the PAC finals in the last four years.

The hat trick by Cross also gave him a milestone, as his 20 goals for the year set a new Franciscan single-season record that was previously set by current Baron assistant coach Leo Hermann in 2017.

The opening goal in the Geneva-Grove City semifinal didn't come quite as quickly as Franciscan's initial tally, but it was close. Junior midfielder Matt Herrmann (Hilton, N.Y./Paul V. Moore) gave Grove City the lead 9:35 into the match by scoring an unassisted goal. After Geneva failed to clear the ball out of the defensive end, Herrmann blasted a 20-yard strike into the back of the net.

After that, scoring chances were held to a minimum by the two stingiest defenses in the conference. Geneva, who surrendered just six goals the entire regular season, held the Wolverines to only eight shots for the game.

Meanwhile, Grove City, who was scored on just 13 times in the regular season, clamped down on the Golden Tornadoes to give up just six shots the entire night, including one in the second half. That one came in the final minute of play and was pushed wide, which allowed the clock to run out and send the Wolverines back to the championship match for the second straight year.

Junior goalkeeper Teddy Almeter (Monroeville, Pa./Serra) was credited with one save in posting the Wolverines' ninth shutout of the season.

In making their third appearance in the title match in the four years, it will also be the third time the Barons host the final. The previous two championship games were against Bethany College, with the 2021 title won by the Bison and the Barons capturing their first PAC crown in 2022 with a 2-1 victory.

Franciscan was denied a third consecutive trip to the championship game in 2023 when they were knocked off at home in the PAC semifinals by Grove City in a 4-1 decision. The Wolverines fell in last year's championship at Geneva by a 1-0 count, so Grove City will be trying on Saturday to win their third conference title in program history and first since 2005.

Both teams enter the final on a roll. Franciscan is 9-0-3 in their last 12 and the Barons' only loss of the season occurred all the way back on Sept. 18th at Mount Union, 3-2. On the other side, Grove City is 7-1-1 in its last nine matches but that lone defeat came October 16 at Franciscan, when the Barons captured a 3-2 win in Steubenville.