BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's soccer team opened its season with a 2-0 win over the Thiel Tomcats on Reeves Field in the first game for interim Head Coach Doug Miller.  Geneva is now 1-0 overall, while Thiel is 0-1.

The women dominated possession early and had several opportunities to get on the board, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't find the net until senior April Mann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Evangelical Christian Academy) received a pass from sophomore Katherine Estep (Dublin, Pa./Pennridge) in the box and poked it past the Thiel goalkeeper in the 36^th minute.

Just over a minute later, Mann almost doubled the lead when she hit the crossbar on a shot.  However, just moments later in the 38^th minute, freshman Katie Bodenmiller (Westfield, N.Y./Westfield Academy and Central) dribbled through the defense and slotted one into the corner of the net to increase the Geneva lead to 2-0, which is where things stayed going into the halftime break.

The Golden Tornadoes could never find a third goal in the second half, but they didn't have to as the Geneva defense gave Thiel very few opportunities.  Freshman goalkeeper Julia Hart (Prospect, Pa./Slippery Rock) did pick up a big save late to keep the Tomcats off the board, in one of Thiel's few chances all game, and Geneva finished off the 2-0 victory.

The Golden Tornadoes outshot Thiel 20-8, including a 12-4 advantage in shots on goal.  Hart made all four saves to earn the shutout in her first collegiate game.

"What a game to start things off," said Miller.  "It's always good to get that first win, for both our seniors and our newcomers.  We had several ladies step up huge for us tonight, with some of them playing in unfamiliar positions.  The goals came at the right time and we battled for the win and to keep a clean sheet.  It will be good now to rest up and prepare for the next game."

Geneva's next game is at home again, this one coming on Thursday against Franciscan 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 is included on Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "2019 Best College Values" list and has one of the top 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.