Mike Kovak | Monday, Nov. 1, 2021, TRIB-LIVE
Westminster women’s soccer has been the toast of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference this season.
Consider Grove City a fast-rising side with serious momentum.
And, if the seeds hold in the PAC tournament semifinals, the Titans and Wolverines will clash for a conference championship Saturday. There’s also a good chance a pair of defensive players with attacking tendencies from the Alle-Kiski Valley will play key roles for their respective sides.
Westminster’s Jocelyn Gillette, a graduate student and Highlands alum, is one of the PAC’s premier defenders. Already selected to the All-PAC first team twice (2019, ’20-’21), Gillette provides leadership, aggressive defending and scoring punch for the top-seeded Titans (15-1-1, 9-0-0 PAC), who host Washington & Jefferson at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the semifinals.
Gillette was new to defense when Westminster coach Girish Thakar inserted her into the lineup at right back five years ago. She’s been a mainstay along the back line ever since, but she still gets opportunities in the attack. She has scored two goals with two assists this season, and her 1,273 minutes played rank third on the team.
“I try to move up as much as I can to be honest,” said Gillette, who works part-time as a project coordinator at Signature Diagnostics in Pittsburgh in addition to her graduate studies and playing duties. “If I can go forward, I’m going all out.”
Grove City freshman Britta Lagerquist doesn’t boast the experience of Gillette, but her backstory and on-field mentality are similar.
Like Gillette, Lagerquist spent her prep career scoring goals. She was a striker at Fox Chapel before arriving at Grove City, and, despite being listed as a forward on the Wolverines roster, she has become a fixture at left back.
Inserted into the starting lineup for Grove City’s fourth match of the season, Lagerquist quickly adjusted to her new duties. As her confidence has grown, so has her statistical impact. She has three goals with two assists for No. 2 seed Grove City (10-7, 7-2), which hosts Chatham at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the semifinals.
“I didn’t have a lot of experience at outside back, but I’m learning when to attack and when to defend, and I think it’s going well,” Lagerquist said.
How well? Well, Lagerquist was named PAC Rookie of the Week on Oct. 25 after she scored two goals in a 3-1 win at Franciscan and had an assist during a 5-1 in against Bethany. Grove City has won seven of its past eight matches, the lone loss a 1-0 defeat at Westminster on Oct. 13.
“The last time we played them, Westminster did a really good job with possession in the first half. We were a little too defensive-minded,” Lagerquist said. “But we’re really progressing as a team, and we’ll be coming into the tournament with a lot of rest.”
Gillette is hoping her last appearance in the PAC tournament pays off with a championship and automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Westminster’s last NCAA appearance came in 2007.
“That’s the goal,” Gillette said. “That’s one of the reasons why I came back.”
And Thakar sure is glad Gillette took advantage of a covid-related NCAA rule that allowed student-athletes to return for an extra year.
“She’s such a leader for us,” Thakar said. “She’s brought us a lot of stability. She knows what to expect, and we know what to expect from her. She has a lot of skill.”