Men's Lacrosse | 5/2/2026 10:55:00 PM

TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Grove City College extended its string of Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) men's lacrosse championships to seven consecutive with a 17-6 victory over Chatham University Saturday night in the PAC Tournament Title game.

Grove City's win also gives the program the league's automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. The field for this year's Division III Championship will be announced on NCAA.com at 9 pm on Sunday, May 3rd, with first round games scheduled for Wednesday, May 6th, while second and third round games will be played May 9-10.

PAC Championship - Grove City, Pa.
No. 1 Grove City 17, No. 2 Chatham 6
- Chatham was within four goals (7-3) at halftime, but Grove City pulled away with 10 of the game's final 12 scores. 
- Grove City senior Mac Faircloth (Greensboro, N.C./Page) posted a hat trick in the game's first 14 minutes but Chatham junior Devin Traister (Maineville, Ohio/Little Miami) scored with 43 seconds to play in the quarter to make it a 3-1 Wolverine lead after one period.
- The teams swapped goals early in the second quarter before a pair of Grove City tallies made it 6-2, with scores coming from freshman Tucker Saums (Greensboro, N.C./Northwest Guilford) and junior Breck Peacock (Wayne, Ill./Wheaton Academy).
- Chatham managed a goal from sophomore Sean Creeden (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville) later in ther quarter and it looked like it would be a three-goal difference at half, but Wolverine sophomore Ethan Binns (Saint Johns, Fla./The Bolles School) scored with five seconds on the clock for a 7-3 Grove City lead at halftime.
- The Cougars stayed within striking distance in the first half thanks to solid work from senior goalie James Cipollone (Forest Hill, Md./Calvert Hall College), who stopped nine shots in the first 30 minutes.
- Grove City pulled away a little more in the third quarter, outscoring Chatham 3-1, which included Peacock's second goal of the night.
- The Cougars posted a man-up goal by sophomore Adam Rinker (Laurel, Md./St. Vincent Palotti) 12 seconds into the fourth quarter to get within 10-5, but the Wolverines ripped off three consecutive scores and seven of the last eight to clinch the win.
- Faircloth logged two of the scores to complete his big night and Tournament and six different Grove City players scored in the final quarter. 

Inside the Box Score
- Faircloth was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after he matched his season-high with five goals in the victory. That came after a seven-point (3g/4a) effort in the semifinal win over Westminster.
- Also posting two goals was Peacock, Saums, Binns and junior Tyson Bui (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton).
- Binns added two assists for a four-point night and was matched with two helpers by senior Rigdon Greene (Marietta, Ga./Pope), while Bui had one assist to give him three points.
- Senior faceoff specialist Colton Lehberg (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Santa Fe Christian) controlled the X with wins in 74 percent (14-of-19) of his draws and he gathered 12 grounds balls.
- Senior goalie Tyler Gladstone (Marriottsville, Md./Marriotts Ridge) was solid with five saves and eight ground balls in 58 minutes. 
- The Wolverine defense limited Chatham to 31 shots, their lowest total since the season opener, and forced 27 Cougar turnovers, tied for second-most by Chatham in a game this year.
- Five different players had goals for Chatham, while graduate student Erik Sahlgren (Tysons Corner, Va./Marshall) was the lone Cougar with multiple points with two assists.
- Despite the loss, Cipollone helped keep Chatham close by matching his season-high with 17 saves.

PAC Championship Game Notes
- Grove City improved to 13-7, the fourth time in seven years the Wolverines have won at least 13.
- Chatham finished the year with a 14-4 record to set a new single-season program record for wins.
- The 11-goal difference is the closest PAC Championship Game since Grove City defeated Westminster 14-3 in the initial PAC Tournament title tilt in 2019.
- The win extended Grove City's winning streak to 11 games, third-longest in program history.