Men's Soccer Falls To Grove City in Final Seconds

ERIE, Pa. – The Grove City men's soccer team netted a goal in the final 14 seconds to defeat Penn State Behrend 1-0 in Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon.

Blake Baer tallied the game-winning goal with 14 seconds left on the clock to lift the Wolverines into the semifinals next week. For the Lions (16-5-1), Chris Ralph (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) made four saves while Matt Dziadosz (Leechburg, PA/Kiski Area) led the team with two shots.

Neither team was able to create very many scoring chances throughout the first half. Grove City had the better of the play in the first, outshooting Penn State Behrend 8-2 but were each awarded five corner kicks.

Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Dziadosz gave the Lions its first scoring opportunity of the game. The ball bounced back to the top of the 18-yard box from a Wolverine clearance, Dziadosz approached the ball, took a touch around a defender and rifled a laser to the top corner of the net, but goalkeeper Malcolm Blake was able to fully extend his body to get a hand on the shot causing the ball to bounce off the crossbar.

Less than a minute later, Dakota Lange (Apollo, PA/Kiski Area) created a chance of his own for Behrend. Lange tracked down a ball that was played into the Grove City end. Once he arrived at the ball, he beat a Wolverine defender left and created a one-on-one scoring chance from inside the 18-yard box. Lange released a shot on net, but it went into the arms of Malcolm to keep the game scoreless.

As the seconds were ticking down, Baer gathered the ball just inside the 18-yard box, cut left and buried a shot near post to give Grove City a 1-0 win. Grove City will face Lebanon Valley in the ECAC Semifinals next Saturday.

The Lions finished the season with an overall record of 16-5-1.