Grinnell Wild Turkeys Waddle Past Grove City 9-5 at Division III Men's Club Tournament

Matt Green

BRUNSWICK, Maine -- Alex Phillips (So., St. Louis, Mo.) scored five goals and Patrick Thomas (Sr., Chesterfield, Mo.) chipped in two markers as the Grinnell College Wild Turkeys used a five goal first period and three goal second period to build an 8-3 halftime lead and hold off Grove City College 9-5 at the 2009 Men's Division III Collegiate Club Championship at Bowdoin College.

The victory puts Grinnell into the fifth place game against the host Polar Bears at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 8, while Grove City will meet Middlebury College at 1:00 p.m. in the seventh place game.

Grinnell put the game away in the first half as the Turkeys ripped off a natural goal by Phillips 17 seconds into the contest and an exclusion score by Thomas with 5:51 remaining in the first period to jump in front 2-0.

Grove City halved the lead to 2-1 with a marker by Lincoln Larsen (Sr., Federal Way, Wash.) at the 4:24 mark, but Phillips tacked on an exclusion goal at 3:30 and a natural tally with 37 seconds remaining on the clock to accompany an even-strength score by Max Stephenson (Sr., Fresno, Calif.) at 2:56 as Grinnell carried a 5-1 lead after seven minutes of play.

The margin expanded to 8-3 before halftime as Phillips added goals at 5:39 and 4:32, while Sam Sherwood (So., Seattle, Wash.) added a tally at the 2:36 mark to conclude a Wild Turkeys offensive onslaught that handed the team a five-goal lead at the break.

For Grove City, the deficit and Grinnell's defense proved too much for a comeback in the second half as the Turkeys limited the Wolverines to two goals in the third and nothing in the fourth period to take the four-goal victory.

In cage, Jon Willuhn (Sr., Huntsville, Ala.) blocked down 10 shot to earn the win for Grinnell, while Grove City's Matt Green (Sr., Avon, N.Y.) concluded the contest with six saves.

Grinnell Goals: Alex Phillips (5); Patrick Thomas (2); Sam Sherwood; Max Stephenson

Grove City Goals: Dan Wells (2); Lincoln Larsen; Nick Hamilton; Collin Foster

Saves: Grinnell - Jon Willuhn (10) ; Grove City - Matt Green (6)

Exclusions: Grinnell - 5 ; Grove City - 6

Advantage Opportunities: Grinnell - 3-of-6 ; Grove City 2-of-5