BEAVER FALLS, Pa. --- The Geneva College women's soccer team picked up a key Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory on Homecoming Day, 3-1 over Thiel on Saturday morning. Junior Katherine Estep (Dublin, Pa./Pennridge), Katie Bodenmiller (Westfield, N.Y./Westfield Academy and Central) and Lexi Meese (Sarver, Pa./Freeport Area) scored goals as the Golden Tornadoes evened their conference record to 1-1 and picked up the second win of the season, 2-7. The victory was also the first career PAC victory for first-year Head Coach Kelsey Morrison.
Geneva outshot Thiel 11-0 before Estep found the back of the net in the 34th minute to put the Tornadoes up 1-0. Estep collected a rebound off a header from Bodenmiller that banged off the cross bar and headed the ball back into the net to finally put Geneva on the board.
Less than 30 seconds later, junior Olivia Mincone (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) intercepted the ball for Geneva and sent a ball over the top to Bodenmiller. Bodenmiller ran onto the through-ball, juked out the goalkeeper and slotted the ball into the empty net to double Geneva's lead, 2-0, which is where things stood at the break. The Golden Tornadoes outshot Thiel 15-2 in the half.
Bodenmiller almost scored again just over five minutes into the second half when her shot from 20 yards out again hit the crossbar. Then, in the 63rd minute, the Tomcats scored against the run of play to cut the deficit in half.
Meese sealed the victory in the 79th minute, though, with a long shot that just eluded the Tomcat keeper into the upper corner, on an assist from junior Lydia Beare (Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Christian). Freshman goalkeeper Jade Farnsworth (New Brighton, Pa./Riverside) recorded two key saves late in the game to preserve the 3-1 Geneva win.
Geneva finished with a 23-7 edge in shots, including a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal. Farnsworth made four saves in the win. Meese recorded her fourth goal of the season, while Estep and Bodenmiller each posted their second goals of the season. For Mincone, it was her first assist of the season and Beare earned her second.
The Tornadoes have a three-game road swing this week beginning at Allegheny College on Monday, October 4 at 7 p.m. Geneva will face Franciscan on Wednesday, October 6 at 7 p.m., and Grove City on Friday, October 8 at 4:30 p.m., in two big PAC road games.
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).
