BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – After a first half where neither team was able to generate many great chances, the Geneva College men's soccer team strung together three goals early in the second half to earn a 3-0 victory over Franciscan on Tuesday night.  The Golden Tornadoes improved to 2-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), while Franciscan fell to 1-1 in the PAC.

Neither team could generate much offense in the first 45 minutes.  The best chance of the half came when junior Alex Yoder (Milton, Pa./Milton Area) beat the Franciscan goalie to a cross just a couple yards from goal, but his one time shot went right into the chest of the Baron keeper. 

The second half proved to be more wide open, and Geneva broke through in the 52^nd minute.  A Franciscan foul gave Geneva a free kick three yards outside the corner of the Baron box, and senior Zach O'Connor (Darlington, Pa./Blackhawk) put a beautiful ball across the box that junior Ian Gelsinger (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) met in front of the net, and his header to the far post from seven yards out gave the Golden Tornadoes a 1-0 lead.

Geneva doubled its lead in the 63^rd minute, and it was again O'Connor who generated the offense.  He made a run down the left side of the box and sent a ball across the net.  Franciscan's keeper and backline defender miscommunicated about who was going to clear the ball, allowing the cross to squeeze through to senior Mason Mee's (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) back-post run, and Mee easily scored into the empty net from two yards out to make it 2-0.

Geneva finished the scoring in the 70^th minute, and it was O'Connor again that was in the middle of it.  O'Connor stole the ball 25 yards from goal and sent a pass to freshman Carnel Kerr (Flankers, Jamaica/Carlynton).  Kerr turned and hit a low shot from just outside the box that tucked inside the far post to make it 3-0.

The Golden Tornadoes has several other good scoring chances in the wide-open second half, but Geneva couldn't add to their lead in closing out the match, 3-0.

For Mee and Kerr, it was their first career goals.  Gelsinger's strike was his second of the season, with O'Connor earning an assist on all three scores.  Geneva outshot Franciscan 17-7, including a 9-2 edge in shots on goal.  Sophomore goalkeeper Gabe Kemp (Normalville, Pa./Connellsville) made both stops to earn the shutout and extend his scoreless streak so far this season.

"This was a good and very important win," said Head Coach Gary Dunda.  "Franciscan is a good team with some very talented players.  We had excellent contributions from many different guys tonight.  Our upperclassmen led the way, and our young players followed.  I am very proud of the entire group."

Geneva is back in action this Saturday night with its third straight home game to open the season.  Rival Grove City comes to town for a big early-season matchup, with the start time scheduled for 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.