BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – It was an evening that had a little bit of everything for the Geneva College women's soccer team when it took the field against Franciscan on late Wednesday afternoon.  Despite a delay and a power outage, the Golden Tornadoes eventually prevailed in double overtime on junior Erin Houser's (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) goal to send Geneva to a joyous victory, 1-0.  Geneva improved to 2-2, while Franciscan fell to 1-3.

The game was delayed 30 minutes due to lightning in the area, despite the conditions at the field being sunny and clear.  Adding to the mix was the fact that freshman forward Katherine Estep (Dublin, Pa./Pennridge) got her first-ever start in goal as an emergency choice with senior starting goalkeeper Danielle Lincoln (Milton, Pa./Milton) unavailable due to a disputed red card in Geneva's prior game. 

Once the game finally got underway, Geneva applied the early pressure, and despite finding some space behind the Franciscan backline, couldn't find an early goal.  Franciscan settled down ten minutes into the match, and after things evened out, Franciscan finished the half with a flurry of chances, with Estep called into action multiple times.  When the halftime buzzer sounded, Franciscan held a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal, with five of those six shots requiring saves from Estep.

The game continued to be a fairly open match in the second half, with both teams finding space and missing chances they could have capitalized on.  Adding to the mix was a campus power outage near the end of the second half, and lights that were slow to come back on after the outage.  When the game restarted after the brief outage, there were a few nervous moments late for Geneva, but Estep once again proved up for the challenge, sending the game into overtime.

Neither team could find a winner in the first overtime.  Three minutes into the second overtime, junior Calista Ulmer (Milton, Pa./Northumberland) sent a long free kick into the box that senior Erica Sumner (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver County Christian) flicked on to the backside of the net, where Houser left-footed it into the back of the net for a game-winner.

"What a day, and what a game," said Head Coach Linda Sumner.  "It was a day that was interrupted by several things out of our control, but the team persevered and found a way.  We were clearly tired as the match progressed in hot and muggy conditions, but Katherine was huge in goal in less than ideal circumstances.  Without her we don't win that game.  But in a game like that, everyone has to contribute, and thankfully that's what happened in the end."

The final stats showed Franciscan holding advantages in shots, 16-11, and shots on goal, 10-4, but Geneva was the only team to find the back of the net.  Houser finished the match with seven shots, including the game-winning goal.  Estep was a big reason the Golden Tornadoes had a chance to win in overtime, as the freshman made ten stops on the day to keep Franciscan off the board.

Geneva heads back out onto the road on Saturday for a match at Pitt-Bradford starting at 1:00 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.