GROVE CITY, Pa. (October 30) – The Waynesburg University men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw at Grove City in the Jackets' regular season finale on Wednesday.
Waynesburg entered the game needing a win to clinch the final spot in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament. With the tie, Waynesburg moves to 7-6-4 on the season and 3-3-4 in league play. The Jackets end the regular season with ties against Franciscan and Grove City, two of the top three teams in the final PAC standings.
Grove City (10-3-3, 7-2-1) was looking to clinch the No. 2 seed and first round bye in the conference tournament with a win. They can still secure the second seed if Franciscan defeats Geneva tonight.
The Wolverines scored with a header at the right post off a corner kick in the game's second minute. Grove City outshot Waynesburg 11-0 in the first half but the margin remained 1-0 after the first 45 minutes of play.
Connor Jacobs (Waynesboro, Pa. / Waynesboro) had a running header tipped over the crossbar off a long throw-in in the 58th minute to earn the second of two corner kicks in consecutive minutes. Waynesburg staved off two corner kicks and four shots in quick succession by Grove City with just over 20 minutes left to play.
The Jacket broke through in the 74th minute as
Michael Kanu (Columbus, Ohio / Tree of Life Christian) ran onto a ball just beyond the six-yard box at left post and one-timed a left-footed shot into the bottom opposite corner. Kanu's smart finish was the final part of a sequence that saw
Sarpong Kwabiah (Odenton, Md. / Meade) center a pass to
Connor Jacobs, who sent a perfectly-weighted ball through the Grove City back line where Kanu beat the goalkeeper to the spot and tied the game at one.
Waynesburg had the ball in the Grove City box in the minutes following their equalizer, but the only shot from the sequence was a
Zachary Johnson (Raceland, Ky. / Saint Joseph Central Catholic) grounded attempt from distance that was saved. The Jackets survived a chaotic sequence in the 78th minute as the Wolverines hit the left post and the crossbar in quick succession after a corner kick.
Michael Francus (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park) made a diving save on a well-struck shot in the 81st minute to maintain the tie score. Jacobs hooked free kick just over the crossbar on a free kick with five minutes remaining. Grove City's final shot missed wide in the 88th minute as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Grove City outshot the Jackets 21-6 but only had a 7-3 edge in shots on goal. The Wolverines had 10 of the game's 12 corner kicks.
Jacobs had three of Waynesburg's six shots and an assist. Francus finished with six saves.
Waynesburg's PAC Tournament fate will be decided by the result of tonight's game between Westminster and Washington & Jefferson. A Westminster win or draw will result in a postseason berth for the Jackets.
