GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The sixth-seeded Allegheny College men's soccer team saw its season come to an end on Saturday night with a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 3 Grove City College in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament quarterfinals.

The result is the opposite of the regular-season meeting between the Gators (6-11-0) and the Wolverines (8-5-5) on October 11, which Allegheny won by a 2-1 score. Last year's PAC regular-season champions and the 2023 preseason coaches' poll favorite, the Wolverines erased any early 1-0 deficit with two unanswered goals to punch their ticket to the semifinal round.

Aidan Dyga (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), who scored his first collegiate goal in the first meeting with Grove City, found the back of the net again on Saturday. His goal in the 18th minute gave the upset-minded Gators an early lead. The advantage only lasted until the 26th minute, however, when Grove City's Owen Zimmerman produced an equalizer.

The two sides played the next 72-plus minutes without scoring. Caleb Kendra (Beaver Falls, Pa./Riverside) made several great plays in the latter moments of the second half to force overtime. One of his biggest saves came in the 64th minute. For a split second, the Wolverines had what looked to be a wide-open opportunity at the back side of the net, but Kendra popped back into position to make the stop. He also dove on a few balls inside the 18-yard box to nullify Grove City's possessions.

Allegheny's best chances to avoid overtime both came from Jose Cifuentes (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Kiski Prep (Pa.)). He had a close shot denied in the 87th minute, and in the 88th minute, he took a free kick from 20 yards out that was blocked by a Grove City defender. 

The Wolverines scored the game-winner with a header off a corner kick in the 99th minute. In the second overtime period, Cliff Weaver (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) put two shots on target, but Grove City keeper Teddy Almeter saved both.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny finished with 10 shots, including six shots on goal.
• Grove City had 20 shots and eight on goal.
• The Gators only received one corner kick in the second half, while the Wolverines had six.
• Weaver led all Gators with three shots, followed by Cifuentes with two.
• Dyga netted Allegheny's lone goal in the 18th minute on his only shot.
• Both Grove City goals were assisted by John-Luc Harbour.
• Kendra made six saves in 110 minutes in goal for the Gators.
• His counterpart, Almeter, made four stops.

News and Notes

• Allegheny qualified for the PAC Championship Tournament for the second consecutive season, but fell in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
• Four of the last five matchups between Allegheny and Grove City have been decided by just one goal.
• Dyga scored his third goal of the season, tied for third-most on the team and the most among Allegheny freshmen.
• Senior back Matthew Taliani (Cheswick, Pa./Springdale) was named to the PAC Championship All-Tournament Team.