STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – It's been a struggle all season for the Geneva College men's soccer team to find goals, and those frustrations continued on Tuesday evening as the Golden Tornadoes were unable to score at Franciscan and dropped a 1-0 decision after the Barons found a second half goal. Franciscan improved to 6-3 overall, 3-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Geneva dropped to 3-6-2, 1-2 in the PAC.
Neither team generated much offense in the first half, as most of the game was played in the midfield, with no one finding success in either team's third of the field. Geneva's best chance in the half came when junior Antonio Fiordilino (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) received a pass in the middle of the box with space, but he sent his shot well over the bar. The half ended scoreless, with Geneva still yet to give up a first half goal so far this season.
Franciscan broke through in the 71st minute when JP Bobak collected a loose ball in the box that bounced around after a Baron corner kick, and he scored from close range to put Geneva in a hole. The Golden Tornadoes almost equalized in the 84th minute when senior Avery Wenger's (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) header off a corner kick appeared headed into the goal, but the ball was barely saved off the line by a Baron defender. That was the last chance the Golden Tornadoes could generate, with Franciscan holding on for the 1-0 victory.
As has been the case for the majority of Geneva games this year, the Golden Tornadoes held an advantage in the shot totals, though it was slim in this match, 11-10. The Barons did do a better job of putting their shots on net, though, holding an 8-4 edge in shots on goal. Junior goalkeeper Gabe Kemp (Normalville, Pa./Connellsville) made seven saves in the loss.
The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Golden Tornadoes, who head next to Grove City to take on the Wolverines on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Grove City is tied for the lead in the PAC with Franciscan with a perfect 3-0 conference record after outscoring its first three opponents 12-2.
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).
