TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Top seed Grove City College and second seed Allegheny College posted victories on their home fields Thursday in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Lacrosse Tournament semifinals to advance to Saturday's championship game.

Four-time defending champion Grove City (14-4) built a five-goal lead by halftime and continued pulling away in the second half to claim a 17-6 win over fourth seed Westminster College (10-8). In Meadville, after a back-and-forth affair in the first half, Allegheny (10-6) took control with a run of six consecutive goals in the second half and came away with a 16-12 triumph over third seed Saint Vincent College (8-9).

With the wins, Grove City will host Allegheny in the PAC Championship game, which will be at 4 pm on Saturday, May 4 at Grove City. The Wolverines are seeking their fifth straight PAC championship, while this is the Gators' first trip to the PAC title game since returning to the conference prior to the 2022-23 year.

The winner of the PAC Championship Tournament will receive the conference's automatic-qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. The field for this year’s Division III Championship is scheduled to be announced Sunday, May 5. First round games are scheduled for Wednesday, May 8.

Wednesday, May 1 (Semifinal Round - Grove City, Pa.)
Grove City 17, Westminster 6

Grove City scored the final three goals of the first half to build a five-goal cushion, then outscored Westminster 8-2 in the second half to pull away for a 17-6 victory in Wednesday's semifinal. 

The Wolverines outscored the Titans 6-2 in the first quarter but Westminster struck for a pair to trim the Grove City lead to 6-4 midway through the second quarter. The Wolverines' lead would expand by halftime, as they scored three times in the final 4:28 of the half to take a 9-4 lead into intermission.

Grove City would continue to pull away through the second half, scoring three of the four goals tallied in the third period and then putting five more on the board in the final quarter for the final margin. Junior Zachary Hougan (Springboro, Ohio Springboro) was the top scorer for the Wolverines with four goals and two assists, while junior Kobi Bui (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) added four goals. Also totaling four points in the victory was junior Matt Blythe (Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) with a hat trick and one assist and senior Griffen Agawa (San Ramon, Calif./California) notched a pair of goals and two assists.

Making 13 saves in goal for the Wolverines was senior Danny Stone (Chantilly, Va./Flint Hill). The defense in front of Stone featured sophomore Sam Stevenson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) with two caused turnovers and three ground balls, while sophomore Colton Lehberg (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Santa Fe Christian) led Grove City with eight GBs.

For the Titans, junior Jonas Clark (Montgomery Village, Md./Watkins Mill) finished with a trio of goals and junior Gavin Jones (Henrico, Va./Douglas S. Freeman) posted one goal and one assist.

Wednesday, May 1 (Semifinal Round - Grove City, Pa.)
Allegheny 16, Saint Vincent 12

After Saint Vincent scored the opening goal of the second half to take a 10-9 lead, Allegheny ripped off six consecutive goals to seize control and would secure a spot in the championship game with a 16-12 triumph over visiting Saint Vincent.

The first half went back-and-forth throughout, as there were six lead changes and two ties. The Gators opened with a 4-1 lead, but Saint Vincent responded with three straight to start a 7-2 run, as the visitors took an 8-6 lead. That was answered by Allegheny with three goals in a row to take a 9-8 lead, but the game went to halftime tied at 9-9 following an SVC goal with 1:02 in the second quarter.

The quick scores continued out of the gate in the third quarter when the Bearcats scored 56 seconds after halftime. Allegheny's response would turn the game in their direction, as the Gators scored the final four goals of the third quarter and the first two of the fourth period for a 6-0 spurt to take their largest lead of the game at 15-10. The Bearcats managed to get goals back, but a score by Allegheny sophomore JP Rakis (Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson) stopped their momentum and the Gators would run out the clock to close the win.

Allegheny freshman Alex Crespo (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) led all scorers in the game with seven points on five goals and two assists, while Rakis matched him with five goals. Also finishing with a hat trick was senior Aidan D'Amato (Tolland, Conn./Tolland). In net, sophomore Garin Stearns (Hudson, Ohio/Revere) stopped 14 shots in the winning effort, while senior Cassady Bouthet (Vernon, Conn./Rockville) and sophomore Jared Swisher (Cumberland, Maine/Berwick Academy) forced four turnovers each in a game that saw the Gators create 16 Bearcat turnovers overall.

The Saint Vincent offense was led by graduate student Jordan Billet (York, Pa./West York) with four goals and one assist, while senior Carter Haid (Fredericksburg, Va./James Monroe) and sophomore Liam McCall (Canonsburg, Pa./Peters Township) had two goals and one assist each.
 

2024 PAC Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament
Wednesday, May 1
Semifinals
7 p.m.	[SF1] Allegheny 16, Saint Vincent 12	- Meadville, Pa.
7 p.m.	[SF2] Grove City 17, Westminster 6	- Grove City, Pa.
Saturday, May 4
Title game
4 p.m.	No. 2 Allegheny at No. 1 Grove City	- Grove City, Pa.