BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The women's soccer game on Reeves Field Saturday morning between Geneva College and Westminster College represented a matchup of the two teams tied for first place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), and it played out that way in a close match throughout.  Unfortunately for the Golden Tornadoes, Westminster was the only team to find the back of the net in the 1-0 Geneva loss.  Westminster improved to 10-3 overall, 3-0 in the PAC, while Geneva fell to 6-6, 2-1 in the PAC.

Westminster got on the board first in the 19^th minute when Keely Birsic received a pass in the box and put it into the upper corner of the net to give the Titans a 1-0 lead.  Geneva's best chance in the first half occurred when senior Megan Schoeneweis (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) put junior Erica Sumner (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) in on goal, but Westminster keeper Camille Holzschuh came out and deflected Sumner's shot wide.

Neither team could get much offense going in the second half, though junior goalkeeper Danielle Lincoln (Milton, Pa./Milton Area) did make a couple of key saves to keep the game within reach.  Geneva had a good chance late when Sumner pounced on a loose ball in the box and had an open shot, but Holzschuh again came up big by tipping the shot just over the net, enabling Westminster to hold on for the 1-0 win.

"I thought our team played hard against a good Westminster team," Head Coach Linda Sumner said.  "I thought a key was Westminster getting on the board first, which forced us to play from behind most of the game.  We had a couple chances to tie it up, but we just couldn't convert.  But playing a team like Westminster tough should give us some confidence that we can play with the top teams in the conference."

Westminster ended up outshooting Geneva 10-6, helped by a 5-1 edge in the second half.  The Titans also held a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal.  Lincoln made five saves in the game.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Golden Tornadoes.  On Wednesday, Geneva welcomes preseason PAC favorite Grove City for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff, a game moved up in the day so that the teams could play on Reeves Field.


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.