by Matt Koll
The Grove City Wolverines and the Westminster Titans will meet once again in the PAC Championship Tournament title game after facing off against each other in the inaugural match in 2019.
This time the Wolverines come in flying high, winners of nine straight games while boasting an undefeated record in conference play. Not only that, they’re coming off an impressive 26-4 rout of Bethany in the previous round to earn this berth into the championship once again.
Winning by that score can certainly give a team that extra confidence boost, but Grove City head coach Alec Jernstedt is being careful to not let it go to his players’ heads and work as a detriment to their effort.
“It always feels good to play well and win a game,” said Jernstedt. “We talk a lot about not getting on an emotional roller coaster, both in games and during the season as a whole. Each opportunity to play is a unique chance to compete. We know that anyone can beat us and the only way for us to beat anybody is to go out and make it happen with our effort and execution.”
Conversely, the Westminster Titans fought and clawed their way to the title game. In the semifinal match against #2 Chatham, sophomore Ryan Greer scored with 2:31 remaining in regulation to give the Titans a 7-6 lead that they held on to for the victory. The late-game dramatics against the Cougars were something that Westminster head coach Travis Brown anticipated and it’s become familiar territory for his team this year. He expects his team to remain even-keeled and focused on the next task.
“We knew going into Wednesday’s game it was going to be a low scoring game, most likely decided by three goals or less,” said Brown. “So I don’t see a victory hangover being an issue moving into Saturday. This also was our 3rd one-point victory of the season, in an already shortened season, so we know how to handle our emotions in that aspect as well.”
This matchup features what’s quite clearly been the two best offenses in the conference. Grove City and Westminster are the two leading teams in goals and assists per game, points and shots per game, shooting percentage, faceoff percentage and ground balls per game.
Westminster’s 2nd ranked offensive attack runs deep as the Titans have 10 digit scorers, with two more at nine points on the season. Ryan Greer’s 4.23 points per game (6th in PAC) and freshman Payton Waight’s 3.85 points per game (8th in PAC) lead the way.
Meanwhile, Grove City’s top-ranked offense is the only one in the PAC to average over 20 goals per game. Sophomore James Petrolle (1st) and juniors Michael La Forte (2nd), Brett Gladstone (3rd) and Jed Speers (5th) represent four of the top five scorers in the conference.
“I think the key to our success has been the men recognizing that they aren’t invincible and putting their heads down trying to improve every day,” said Jernstedt. “The team has been committed to doing everything they can to be the best version of themselves and to loving each other through the process.”
With battling and winning so many close games even in a shortened season, Westminster knows what their squad is all about.
“Our identity is definitely a tough-nosed, gritty team. No matter the score, our best plays this season have come from hustle and grittiness,” says Brown.
That gritty identity may show up most in the Titans leading the PAC in creating turnovers at just over 15.5 caused per game. Their ability to take the ball away and get scoring production from many sources is no secret to Grove City, either.
“Westminster is a team that thrives on emotion and physicality so we have to do our best to match their physical play,” said Jernstedt. “They have a lot of depth so understanding who they are and how they want to play will be important as we try to get stops and take advantage when we have possessions.”
Grove City came out on top in the two previous matchups between them this season. The first was a 20-11 win in New Wilmington to begin the spring. The Wolverines outscored the Titans 11-4 in the second half to pull away and secure the win. The second matchup was just last Saturday, a 15-7 home win for Grove City in which they scored nine consecutive goals after holding a slim 5-4 lead.
With tough losses come lessons learned.
“We learned a lot about the faceoff spot, we were able to throw a variety of different looks to see what works in neutralizing Grant Evans (PAC-leading 86.8% faceoff percentage). We also have found ways to limit some of their leading point scorers from putting the ball in the net at high rates,” said Brown. “The biggest thing we learned in the first two matchups is that we can hang with them and score effectively at high clips when we possess and clear the ball.”
Westminster will look to avenge those losses and win when it matters most on Saturday at 7 pm at Thorn Field. The PAC Sports Network will have coverage of the game on the PAC Sports Network!
