LATROBE, Pa. – The Geneva College women's soccer team made the trip to Saint Vincent College on Tuesday afternoon knowing it might have to battle not only the Bearcats, but also approaching thunderstorms.  Despite the challenges, the Golden Tornadoes managed to successfully overcome both opponents, defeating Saint Vincent 2-1 despite a 90 minute weather delay due to rain and lightning.  The win moved Geneva above .500 for the first time this season at 6-5, including a 2-0 record in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).  It is the first time since Geneva has joined the PAC ten years ago that the Golden Tornadoes have started 2-0 in the conference.  Saint Vincent fell to 4-6, 0-2 in the PAC.
 
Sophomore Erin Houser (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) got Geneva on the board in the tenth minute when her shot hit off the bottom of the crossbar and went in.  Ten minutes later, the Bearcats evened the score on a penalty kick by Natalie Luppold.  However, Houser would put Geneva back up in the 28^th minute when she took a through-ball from senior Megan Schoeneweis (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) and got in behind the defense to make it 2-1.  That's where things stayed going into halftime.
 
Despite a shortened halftime, the two teams couldn't avoid the heavy thunderstorms that hit ten minutes into the second half.  It caused a 90 minute delay, and it threatened to wipe out the game because Saint Vincent's field only has low-level lighting, which would have meant the game would have had to have been replayed from the beginning had it gotten too dark.  However, just as the deadline approached to restart the game in order to get it finished before darkness hit, the storms cleared out, and the two teams were able to get the last 35 minutes in, with neither team scoring, giving Geneva the win.
 
"I thought it was really important that we were able to get in front early, especially with the storms coming," said Head Coach Linda Sumner.  "It wasn't ideal to have the delay, but being able to play from in front after the delay was important.  I'm especially thankful we didn't have to replay the game.  Picking up a road win in the conference is never easy, so I'm really pleased with how we are playing right now."
 
Geneva outshot Saint Vincent in the match, 15-9, including a 12-5 advantage in shots on goal.  Houser led the offense with her two goals on five shots, while Schoeneweis picked up her ninth assist of the season, tops in the PAC.  Junior Danielle Lincoln (Milton, Pa./Milton Area) made four saves to pick up the victory.
 
The win sets the stage for a big matchup on Saturday when Geneva welcomes Westminster to Reeves Field at 11:00 a.m on Homecoming.  Westminster comes in 8-3 on the season, and a win over the Titans would begin to position Geneva to qualify for its first-ever PAC playoff appearance.


Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 80 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs, and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top Three Best Value Regional University with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world.