BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's soccer team had to let out a big sigh of relief, along with a loud shout of jubilation, after it was the Golden Tornadoes' turn to be on the good side of a late game-winner on Tuesday night, with senior Alex Yoder (Milton, Pa./Milton) scoring with less than two minutes remaining to give Geneva a 1-0 victory over Chatham. Geneva improved to 4-7-2, 2-3 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Chatham dropped to 6-5-1, 3-2 in the PAC.
Geneva entered the game looking for a spark offensively, with the Golden Tornadoes boasting the top defense in the league but an offense averaging less than one goal per game. The men were also facing an improved Chatham squad that had won three of its first four PAC contests, including an impressive 5-0 victory over W&J on Saturday.
The Golden Tornadoes had the better of the play for most of the first half, but Geneva couldn't find ways to break down the Chatham defense in the final third. The team's best chance probably came in the 34th minute when, at the end of a nice sequence of passing, freshman Kyle Lapoure's (Colorado Springs, Colo./The Classical Academy) shot from inside the box curled just wide of the far post. The Geneva defense kept Chatham's offense in neutral, including the Cougars' Ryan Tahbaz, who came into the night leading the PAC with 24 points, including the four goals he scored in the W&J victory. The game went into the break scoreless, with the men yet to concede a first-half goal this season. Geneva had a 7-4 edge in shots.
The second half brought more of the same, with Geneva pushing forward but unable to convert anything in the final third. As the half wore on, Chatham began to find some dangerous areas in Geneva's third, with junior Gabe Kemp (Normalville, Pa./Connellsville) coming up with a couple key saves.
Unlike in previous games, though, Geneva refused to concede a late goal, and the Golden Tornadoes found some late-game magic of their own when freshman Caleb Chambers (Aston, Pa./Christian Academy) collected a loose ball 35 yards from goal and played a beautiful ball into Yoder's run, putting the senior in behind the Chatham defense, and Yoder calmly slotted the ball into the net from ten yards out in the 89th minute to give Geneva the important win.
Geneva finished the game with a 13-8 advantage in shots, though each team finished with three shots on goal. Kemp earned his fourth shutout of the season.
The men will remain at home when Geneva hosts Saint Vincent on Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. start.
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 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva has one of the top 100 undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to
U.S. News and World Report. 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. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and IACE (International Association for Christian Education).
