BETHANY, W.Va. – Sophomore Katie Bodenmiller (Westfield, N.Y./Westfield Academy and Central) has emerged in recent weeks as one of the more dangerous scorers in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), and she came through for the Geneva women's soccer team at Bethany on Wednesday afternoon, scoring twice in the Golden Torandoes' 2-1 victory over the Bison.  The victory improves Geneva's record to 5-10 overall, 4-3 in the PAC.  Bethany dropped to 4-11 overall, 0-8 in the PAC.

Geneva got on the board in the 11^th minute when Bodenmiller ran onto a cross from junior Lydia Beare (Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Christian) and scored from five yards out to give the Golden Tornadoes an early lead. 

Bethany began to turn up the pressure after the Geneva goal, and the Bison pulled even when freshman goalkeeper Jade Farnsworth (New Brighton, Pa./Riverside) came off her line but was unable to get to a through ball, and Bethany's Mary Marshall took advantage and scored into an empty net in the 31^st minute to tie the game, 1-1. 

Freshman Lillie Berryman (Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Christian) almost gave Geneva the lead back two minutes later, but her shot hit the crossbar and bounced away, sending the teams into halftime tied at 1-1.

Geneva had the better of the play early in the second half, and Bodenmiller put Geneva back ahead in the 65^th minute.  Bethany's back line had pushed almost ten yards into Geneva's side of the field, and Bodenmiller and Berryman were waiting patiently by themselves at midfield.  Junior Katherine Estep (Dublin, Pa./Pennridge) gained possession and sent a long ball over the top, enabling Berryman and Bodenmiller to run onto the ball without a defender between them and goal.  Berryman carried the ball in, forcing the keeper to commit, and then she slotted the ball over to Bodenmiller for the eventual game-winning goal.

As the Bison had done in the first half, though, they immediately increased their pressure and almost had the equalizer minutes later if it wasn't for the defensive heroics of freshman Addie Tallman (Gaithersburg, Md./Homeschool).  Farnsworth came off her line to stop an incoming Bethany striker, breaking up the play, but the ball deflected off Farnsworth and went right to Bethany's Marshall at the top of the box.  Marshall collected the ball and then sent a shot into what appeared to be an open net before Tallman rushed over and just flicked the ball over the bar with her head, preserving the Geneva lead.

After absorbing 15 minutes of strong pressure from Bethany, the Golden Tornadoes gained better possession over the final ten minutes and saw the victory out, 2-1.

Geneva finished the game with a 21-16 edge in shots, including a 13-10 advantage in shots on goal.  Farnsworth made eight saves in preserving the victory.

The victory further solidifies Geneva's hold on the sixth and final spot for the PAC playoffs, but the Golden Tornadoes still likely need a result in one of their two remaining games, which are against opponents also battling Geneva for those final playoff spots.  The Golden Tornadoes wrap up the home portion of their schedule on Saturday with a 4:30 p.m. start against W&J, the team just ahead of Geneva in the standings.  Geneva then closes out the regular season with a road trip on Tuesday to Waynesburg, the team just behind Geneva in the PAC standings, for a 7:00 p.m. start time.

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).