MEMPHIS, Tenn. (February 12, 2022) - The Grove City Wolverines spoiled the 2022 season opener for Rhodes, taking the first match of the year by a score of 17-8. Grove City moves to 1-0 on the year while Rhodes falls to 0-1 (0-0 SAA). 

Tyler Pellegrino started things off with the first goal of the game less than two minutes in, scoring after a feed from Sammy Carter. Grove City responded with a goal of their own one minute later, and added two more before the first buzzer sounded to make it 3-1. In the first period, Rhodes outshot the Wolverines 10-8, and also won the battle for groundballs, 9-7. Jack Petit (Grove City) and Brendan Roberts (Rhodes) had two saves each. 

Rhodes took a penalty almost immediately at the start of the second quarter, giving GCC a man-up opportunity, which they capitalized on to make it 4-1. They then scored three more goals in the next five minutes to run the score to 7-1. Both teams tightened up on defense for the rest of the quarter until Matt Blythe was able to rip a shot past Roberts with three seconds left on the clock to give Grove City an 8-1 lead heading into the half. The Wolverines played far more aggressively in the second quarter, outshooting Rhodes 17-6. Again, each goalie matched each other's effort in the saves category with five apiece, but the shot differential was too much for the Lynx. 

Drew Downes started the third quarter with a successful pair of strikes. The freshman put one in the net on a man-up situation two minutes in to the period, and then a minute later netted a laser off a feed from Drew Litner. Unfortunately, the Wolverine attack was too much for the Rhodes defense as they scored four straight with no answer. The Lynx made it on the board once more before the horn thanks to a Matt Leone goal with five seconds left, making the score 12-4. 

Grove City started the fourth with four goals in the first five minutes. Rhodes showed plenty of heart though, and were able to fight back despite the large deficit. Downes netted his third of the game at the eight-minute mark, and was joined in the box score by Jack Wentz, Jonathon Hazlehurst, and Pellegrino for a second time. Grove City added one more late, making the final of 17-8.  

Downes looked solid in his first collegiate game, totaling three scores on eight shots on goal. Five different Lynx found the net in this one, while three ... Carter, Litner and Conor Casey ... added assists. Alexi Thomas, Ethan Frischhertz and Will Perryman all tied for the team lead with four groundballs. Perryman also won six faceoffs. 

The Lynx will be back at it Sunday afternoon when they host #14 Illinois Wesleyan at Crain Field. Faceoff is set for 2:30 pm central time.