MEADVILLE, Pa. -- With a 3-0 victory over Thiel College on a rainy Wednesday night at Frank B. Fuhrer Field, the Allegheny College men's soccer team clinched the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament.

The Gators (5-7-4, 4-2-4 PAC) needed a win over the Tomcats (1-15-2, 1-9-0 PAC) to earn a home playoff game, but they also needed help from around the conference. Allegheny got the help it needed, as Bethany College and Westminster College played to a 2-2 draw on Wednesday. As a result, the Gators surpassed both the Bison and Titans and earned the fourth seed with 16 league points.

Hoping to spoil AC's postseason aspirations, Thiel nearly took an early lead, but had what appeared to be the go-ahead goal waved off due to an offsides call in the 10th minute. Henry Rosenberg (Pittsburgh, Pa./Allderdice) broke the scoreless stalemate in the 27th minute on a great cross from Cliff Weaver (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) and touch pass from Cam Kaminski (Bowling Green, Ohio/Maumee Valley Country Day). 

Approximately three minutes later, Darius Googe (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) made a great hustle play to steal a mishandled pass inside the box and score unassisted. It was the first of two tallies for the second-year forward from Connecticut, who added an insurance marker in the 82nd minute to put the contest well out of Thiel's reach.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny finished with twice as many shots, 20-to-10, and held an 11-to-3 advantage in shots on goal.
• The Gators also took more corners, 7-to-2.
• Googe led all scorers with four points on two goals.
• Rosenberg netted the first goal of the evening.
• Weaver assisted on the first and last Allegheny goals.
• Kaminski had the primary assist on the Rosenberg score.
• Gabe Anthony (Tarentum, Pa./Highlands) needed only three saves to log a clean sheet.

News and Notes

• Allegheny improved to 4-2-4 in conference play with Wednesday's win.
• The Gators climbed two spots in the standings and earned the right to host a PAC quarterfinal match as the No. 4 seed.
• AC is 6-4-1 all-time against Thiel in a series that dates back to the 1945 season.
• Rosenberg and Googe moved into a two-way tie for third on the team with four goals this season.
• Anthony registered his second shutout of the 2022 campaign.

Up Next
No. 4-seeded Allegheny will host fifth-seeded Bethany in a PAC quarterfinal on Saturday, October 29, on the grass field at the Robertson Athletic Complex. Kick-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.