BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – In what had to be one of the more physical Geneva College men's soccer games in recent memory, the Golden Tornadoes did what they had to do in earning a 2-0 victory over a Thiel squad on Homecoming that saw three Tomcats sent off with red cards, leaving Thiel at the end of the game with just eight players on the field. Geneva picked up its first Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory of the season to improve its overall record to 3-5-2, 1-1 in the PAC, while Thiel dropped to 1-7-3, 1-1 in the PAC.
The game changed in just the 6th minute when senior Cole Sauer (Middleburg, Pa./Midd-West) sent a beautiful long ball over the defense, which sophomore Justin Finnegan (Pleasant Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) ran onto for a breakaway. But just outside the box, Tomcat defender Jonah Lentz grabbed Finnegan's jersey from behind and pulled him back, preventing a clear goal scoring chance. While it wasn't a malicious foul, by rule it was a straight red card, forcing the Tomcats to play a man down the rest of the game.
From that point on Geneva dominated the possession and the game, putting a multitude of shots toward the Thiel goal. It wasn't easy, but the Golden Tornadoes finally broke through in the 37th minute when senior Ian Gelsinger (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) sent a long throw-in into the box, which junior Antonio Fiordilino (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) flicked onto the back post. Freshman Kyle Lapoure (Colorado Springs, Colo./The Classical Academy) was waiting on the backside, and Lapoure deposited the flick-on into the back of the net to give Geneva a 1-0 lead heading into halftime. Geneva outshot Thiel 15-1 in the half.
The Golden Tornadoes continued to push forward in the second half, looking for that second goal, but Geneva could not convert any of its chances into a goal early on. Junior goalkeeper Gabe Kemp (Normalville, Pa./Connellsville), who had an extremely quiet night, came up big when Geneva needed him. Despite the Golden Tornadoes having almost all of the possession, Thiel created a good chance in the 72nd minute just three yards from goal, but Kemp stoned a point-blank shot to keep Geneva in the lead.
The Golden Tornadoes almost immediately responded with that second crucial goal they were looking for. In the 74th minute, Sauer dribbled down the right side of the field and into the box, and he sent a laser into the far upper corner to give Geneva a 2-0 lead.
Almost immediately things began to get chippy, with Thiel's Max Ravencroft fouling and then shoving a Geneva player, creating a bit of a dust-up. That earned him his second yellow card and an ejection. Then in the 85th minute, Thiel's Dakota King made a dangerous, running, studs-up challenge, and he was given a straight red card which dropped the Tomcats down to only eight players for the remaining five minutes. From that point the Golden Tornadoes were content to close out the game without further incident or injury, walking away with a 2-0 victory.
Geneva finished the game with a 27-2 edge in shots, including an 11-1 advantage in shots on goal.
The Golden Tornadoes continue PAC play next week with two road games, beginning with Franciscan on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., followed by a match at Grove City on Friday at 7:00 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 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).
