BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – For the second straight match the Geneva College men's soccer team came up with a late winner, this one from senior Michael Pohlod (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland), who scored five minutes into the first overtime period to defeat Saint Vincent, 1-0.  Geneva evened its record at 7-7 overall, 3-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Saint Vincent fell to 2-10-2, 1-2-1 in the PAC.

Geneva had an early chance just minutes into the game when a Golden Tornado flick-on in Saint Vincent's box sent the ball slowly across an empty Bearcat net, but Geneva failed to get onto the end of it as the ball rolled just out.  It proved to be Geneva's best chance in the first half, and despite holding most of the possession in the first half, the game remained scoreless heading into halftime.  The Golden Tornadoes held a 6-2 advantage in shots at the half.

The scoreless tie remained throughout the second half, and despite outshooting the Bearcats again in the second half, neither team could find a regulation goal, though Saint Vincent almost scored with one minute remaining when a curling shot from just inside the box hit off Geneva's post, keeping the game tied at the end of regulation.

Whatever Head Coach Gary Dunda said to the squad before the first overtime must have worked.  Geneva came out firing, and on its fourth shot of the first five minutes of overtime, the Golden Tornadoes found victory.  Senior Devaughn Johns (Mount Pleasant Mills, Pa./Midd-West) lofted a long throw-in into the Bearcat box that Pohlod got on the end of, and the senior headed the ball into the corner of the net to give Geneva the 1-0 victory.

"This was another hard-fought PAC match today," said Dunda.  "Saint Vincent was very disciplined defensively, which made it very challenging to get in behind them.  They played extremely hard the entire match.  But I am so proud of my guys' resilience to keep playing and not give in.  It was great to see Michael Pohlod get the game-winner after he played so well during the second half and overtime.  It has been a good week with two wins and now we must focus on next week."

Geneva finished with a 16-5 advantage in shots, including an 8-3 edge in shots on goal.  Sophomore Cole Sauer (Middleburg, Pa./Midd-West) was very active as well, finishing with a season-high six shots.  Junior goalkeeper Nate Burkhart (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) made three saves to pick up his second shutout in a row.

Next up for the men's soccer team is a road match at Bethany on Tuesday, beginning at 4:00 p.m.


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 115 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 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.