By Sam Fetherlin · Contributing Writer
After its first Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) title in 20 years, Grove City College men’s soccer team earned its first win of the season Friday night with a 2-0 victory over Baldwin Wallace.
A pair of first-half goals from senior forward Ryan Merrick, both assisted by senior midfielder Noah Gray, secured the victory for the Wolverines. Merrick gave Grove City the lead at the 11:56 mark by tapping it home at the near post after Gray beat his man down the left. Twelve minutes later, Gray collected the ball in midfield, turned and delivered a through-ball to Merrick, who slid it past the goalkeeper, sparking celebrations from the bench.
Grove City outshot Baldwin Wallace 17-9 and held a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks. The Wolverines’ control grew after the Yellow Jackets received a red card at 54:08 for denying a goal-scoring opportunity. Neither team scored in the final 36 minutes, and the Wolverines took home both the win and the shutout.
After the game, coach Mike Dreves said he was pleased with his team’s effort, especially after a 0-0 draw against Carnegie Mellon three days earlier.
“I wanted to have a lot of energy tonight,” Dreves said. “I thought it was a bit of a slow start, but then we got a bit more energy and the end of the first half was great. And we were all over them, scoring two goals.”
The seniors were on the scoresheet again on Saturday night as the Wolverines hosted Calvin University. The two schools faced off in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Division III Championship Tournament first-round matchup, where Calvin bested Grove City 1-0 in double overtime.
This time, Calvin went up 1-0 again, converting a penalty kick after two minutes. Grove City struck back at 26:41 with a spectacular shot by Gray, who delivered a first-time, looping effort into the far side of the net.
The game was still tied at halftime, but Merrick added another goal to his season tally soon after the second half began. At 53:11, Gray sent in a corner kick from the left side, and Merrick guided the ball home to give the Wolverines the lead.
As the clock wound down, it looked like Grove City would hang on for a second successive victory, but Calvin equalized with just two and a half minutes remaining. A free kick delivered from the right was not dealt with properly, allowing Calvin to secure a 2-2 draw.
The seniors’ continued contributions echoed comments Dreves had made following Friday’s match against Baldwin Wallace.
“We have 35 guys on the roster, eight of them are seniors, so we’re pretty balanced,” he said. “The seniors, those guys all contribute. They’re culturally great, and I think they’re great players.”
Dreves also elaborated on the challenges ahead.
“We don’t take anything for granted. I talked to them about this before the game: there’s no guarantees, so we have to fight,” he said. “We just have to earn it. I’m excited for the guys; we’ll see how the conference plays out, but we have an opportunity.”
The Wolverines will travel to La Roche University Saturday, and the game will kick off at 2 p.m. The team will then return to Don Lyle Field for its first conference game against Bethany College Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
