NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Four different players scored goals to lead the Grove City College women's soccer team to its second consecutive Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) title, as the second-seeded Wolverines pulled out a 4-3 victory Saturday evening at top-seeded Westminster College in the championship match of the conference tournament.

The victory clinches Grove City (13-3-3) its ninth PAC championship in program history and second in a row after defeating Franciscan University in last year's final. It also sends the Wolverines to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the seventh time in program history.

Grove City jumped out to a 2-0 lead by scoring twice in the first 14 minutes. Sophomore Emma Dailey (East Brady, Pa./Karns City) headed in a corner kick at 11:24 with senior midfielder Lexi Zook (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) assisting the goal. Senior Emma Herrmann (Hilton, N.Y./Paul V. Moore) extended the lead to 2-0 with an unassisted goal at 13:48.

The goal by Herrmann was her 21st this season, the second-highest single-season total in program history behind only Meg Tilley's 25 goals in 2002. 

Westminster (11-6-1) responded with two goals before halftime. The first was scored by senior Natalie Vilchek (West Newton, Pa./Yough) off an assist from sophomore Jocelyn Gratchic (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville) in the 32nd minute. Then in the 39th minute, senior Brooke Horvath (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) set up senior Lydia Ohm (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) for a scoring strike and the match went to halftime even at 2-2. 

Grove City broke a 2-2 tie by scoring twice in a 10-minute span of the second half. Sophomore Tori Stevenson (Butler, Pa./Butler) broke the tie by scoring at 63:42. Herrmann assisted the go-ahead goal, which was Stevenson's fourth in two PAC Tournament matches. 

The lead grew to 4-2 at 73:59 when senior Erin Venus (Medina, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) scored her first collegiate game-winning goal, which was set up by senior Natalie Merrick (Cranberry Township, Pa./Eden Christian) and the Wolverines had a two-goal cushion.

That proved to be a valuable score, as Westminster cut the lead to 4-3 with 11:13 left on Vilchek's second goal of the match, which occurred when Vilchek's corner kick deflected off a body in front of the net.

That would be the final goal of the match, as Grove City's defense did not allow a shot the rest of the game and the Wolverines closed the 4-3 win, which tied the PAC Tournament record for most goals in a final with the 2021 championship, also won by a 4-3 count by Chatham University over Westminster in double overtime.

Despite the high-scoring, both keepers turned in strong performances. Grove City senior Courtney Lisman (Mars, Pa./Mars) made five saves to record her 46th career victory, while Titan junior keeper Morgan Murphy (Yardley, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) stopped eight shots on her end.

Stevenson's four goals this week earned her Most Outstanding Player for the Tournament, while Herrmann and Venus were also selected for the All-Tournament team. Westminster had two players be recognized with All-Tournament Team laurels, including Vilcheck and junior defender Alena Taladay (Ford City, Pa./Armstrong).

Grove City will learn its next opponent when the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced Monday afternoon at 2 pm.