By Mia Gallagher · Sports Editor
As the leaves begin to change, temperatures begin to drop and alumni begin to arrive for Homecoming, the Wolverines find themselves at the peak of their fall PAC schedules.
Capitalizing on the lessons learned during preseason and the battles fought during non-conference play, Grove City’s fall sports programs now look to their remaining regular season games as opportunities to fine tune their form ahead of tournament play later this month.
Whether their PAC tournament kicks off early next week like men’s and women’s golf or their title quests persist into the middle of November like football, athletes across campus continue to strive for excellence on and off the playing field.
So, before any PAC titles are claimed, here’s everything you need to know about our beloved fall sports teams:
Football
After a defensive masterclass in week one produced a 31-14 victory against Cortland, the Wolverines struggled to generate the same strength of performance in the next two games. D-III powerhouse Mount Union and PAC rival Washington & Jefferson dealt the Wolverines successive home setbacks, forcing Grove City to double down in their efforts to keep the title and NCAA tournament in sight.
With a decisive 22-9 win over Geneva last Saturday getting the Wolverines back on track, the team will continue to lean on its veteran defense — headlined by seniors Caleb Brubaker, Jack Jollie and Ben Bladel – and to encourage its young offense – led by junior quarterback Sutton Ellis – to find renewed success.
Grove City will continue its PAC schedule tomorrow against the visiting Waynesburg Yellowjackets. The matchup, which will serve as the college’s homecoming game, will kick off at 2 p.m. from Robert E. Thorn Field.
Women’s Soccer
The reigning PAC champions faced an onslaught of fierce nonconference competitors to open their 2025 program — clinching only two out of these early six matches. The challenges these games posed, however, prepared the Wolverines well for their conference competition, allowing them to put up dominant performances against the likes of Bethany, Geneva and Thiel.
Grove City boasts a shots-on-goal percentage of 52.9% and has tallied 26 goals through their first 10 matches of the season. Junior Tori Stevenson currently leads the Wolverines with six goals for the year, followed by freshman Lauren Muhanna, who has tallied three.
Women’s soccer continues their PAC title quest this evening with a rivalry matchup at Westminster.
Men’s Soccer
The Wolverines have looked dominant through their first 10 matches of the season, carefully balancing consistency and with effortful advancement along the way. Boasting a 3-2-1 nonconference record heading into PAC play, men’s soccer has yet to drop a match through four conference face offs – even managing a 1-1 draw with PAC powerhouse Geneva on Oct. 1.
Grove City’s offense has produced 22 goals and a shots-on-goal percentage of 44.9% thus far in 2025. Their efforts are led by junior Noah Gray and sophomore Luke Ladas, who have tallied eight and four goals, respectively.
Men’s soccer will join the women’s team for a double header against Westminster, this evening.
Women’s Volleyball
Coming off a challenging year in 2024, women’s volleyball has looked sharp thus far in 2025, producing a 10-4 record and impressive wins against nonconference and PAC competitors alike.
Junior Sarah Hart currently leads the Wolverine offense with 178 kills, followed by classmate Alayna Dorst, who’s tallied 158. Dorst also leads Grove City with 193 digs and senior Brooklyn Wirebaugh maintains a current edge in assists with 151.
Women’s volleyball will travel to Washington, Pa. this evening to take on Washington & Jefferson.
Women’s Tennis
After dropping its opening match to John Carroll, women’s tennis has put up consistent performances throughout their fall program, boasting a current record of 8-2.
With a roster brimming with young talent, like freshmen Grace Yurko and Grace Stitt, and seasoned veterans, like senior Julia Ehrenberger and junior Peyton Joines, the team’s prospects of clinching the 2025 conference title later this month are high.
With their victory over Washington & Jefferson on Oct. 4, the Wolverines earned a first-round bye in the PAC tournament. Playoff action is set to begin next week on Tuesday and will conclude with the title match next Saturday, Oct. 18.
Golf
After facing a difficult schedule in 2024-2025, both the men’s and women’s golf teams have put up impressive performances at each of their fall invitationals — recording top three finishes at many of them.
With the PAC fall tournament right around the corner, the men’s and women’s golf teams will lean on sophomore Luke Gronbeck and junior Lauren Kardos — who have each recorded first place finishes in 2025 — to help them find success.
Both squads will round out their fall schedule with the PAC championship tournament next Monday and Tuesday.
Cross Country
Although both teams graduated a talented senior class last year, underclassmen from the men’s and women’s cross-country teams have stepped up to deliver strong performances thus far in 2025.
With freshman Colsen Frank and senior Luke Roberts leading the way for the men’s team and senior Audrey Karwowski and sophomore Rebekah Burger taking care of business for the women, both squads head into their final races eager to compete for the PAC title at the end of this month.
Cross country returns to action this evening for its annual Grove City Alumni 5K.
er Maddie Mills started and played the first 32 minutes without facing a shot. Freshman goalkeeper Ella Lotz entered in relief and finished the final 58 minutes, making one save to secure her first collegiate win. The clean sheet was a complete team effort, as the defensive unit consistently denied Thiel any sustained offensive possession.
Through ten matches, Stevenson leads Grove City with six goals. Plunkard and White are tied for second on the team with three apiece, while freshman forward Lauren Muhanna has also tallied three.
This week, Stevenson made PAC offensive honor role, with Costa making defensive honor role and Horst claiming newcomer honor role. At the beginning of the season, senior midfielder Natalie Giunta, Costa, Keller and Stevenson were listed as the PAC players The Grove City College women’s soccer team continued its strong run in conference play, improving to 3-0-1 against PAC opponents with an impressive 11-0 victory over Thiel last Saturday, Oct. 4. This win also evened the Wolverines’ overall record at 4-4-2.
The Wolverines wasted no time establishing momentum, striking for six goals in the first half before adding five more after halftime. Junior midfielder Tori Stevenson and freshmen midfielder Emily Horst and forward Bethany Kuechly each recorded two goals to lead the offensive surge.
Adding to the scoring rally was senior midfielder Rian Garvey, juniors forward Hannah Plunkard and defender Kirsten Musser, sophomore forward Kiara White and freshman midfielder Payton Allan.
The Wolverines’ success was also fueled by strong supporting play. Senior defender Karly Keller, junior defenders Hannah Costa and Meghan Tischler, senior midfielder Hailey Muñoz and freshman midfielder Hazyl Wilson all provided assists. The midfielders in particular controlled possession, maintaining pressure on Thiel’s back line and dictating the rhythm of the game.
Defensively, Grove City was dominant, allowing just one shot in the entire match. The Wolverines outshot Thiel 49-1 overall, including a commanding 24-1 advantage in shots on goal. Grove City also controlled set pieces, earning 11 corner kicks compared to Thiel’s single attempt.
In goal, junior goalkeeper Annie Vannoy was perfect on the day, recording her third shutout of the season.
