MEADVILLE, Pa. – It took over 102 minutes for someone to finally find the back of the net in the Geneva College men's soccer match at Allegheny on Wednesday night, and unfortunately it was the Gators who broke through in double overtime to send Geneva to a 1-0 defeat.  Allegheny improved to 2-6, while Geneva fell to 4-5.

The match proved to be a defensive struggle for most of the match, with neither team able to come up with many good scoring chances.  Neither team could find a goal in regulation, sending the game to overtime.

Allegheny almost scored in the first overtime period when a loose ball deflected off the hands of junior goalkeeper Nate Burkhart (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) and headed towards the goal, but sophomore Ian Gelsinger (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) cleared the ball off the line, sending the game into the second overtime.

Less than three minutes into the second overtime, Burkhart dived to make a sprawling save on an Allegheny header, pushing the ball onto the post, but the rebound bounced directly to Allegheny's Eddie Opalko who scored from three yards out into the empty net, sending Geneva to a difficult 1-0 defeat.

The final stats showed a very even game.  Allegheny had a 15-11 advantage in shots, but Geneva had the edge in shots on goal, 4-3, and corner kicks, 9-4.  Sophomore Reed McCreery (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) and freshman Antonio Fiordilino (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) each finished with three shots, two on goal, while Burkhart made two saves.

Geneva's schedule doesn't get any easier when it returns home to host undefeated #16 Penn State Behrend on Saturday for Homecoming.  Penn State Behrend is coming off an overtime victory at #14 Mount Union on Wednesday.  The match is scheduled to start at 7:30 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.