BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Nothing was ideal about the Geneva College women's soccer season, and the Golden Tornadoes finished off their season with a 6-1 loss to Westminster on Saturday, prior to which Geneva honored three seniors from this year's roster in Autumn Hunkele (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton), Erin Houser (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) and April Mann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Evangelical Christian Academy).  Geneva sees its season end with a 2-7 record.

There have likely been few seasons in which the Geneva women have faced more obstacles and trials than this 2021 season.  The COVID pandemic made everything about this season a challenge, but beyond that, the program had a coaching change at the beginning of the semester, and the Golden Tornadoes lost several starters to season-ending injuries, along with other players who missed parts of the season because of COVID protocols.  Because of those roster issues, Geneva played the last two weeks with either no subs or one sub, and because of COVID issues in other programs, the Golden Tornadoes finished the season playing four games in eight days, a grueling stretch for any team, much less one that had only about 11 healthy players.

Despite all of those trials, the ladies persevered, and before the game Geneva honored those three seniors for all their contributions over the past several seasons, along with their leadership during the challenges that this COVID spring season brought.

The game went about as well as one might have expected for a program faced with those challenges.  Westminster scored its first goal 13 minutes into the game, and by the time halftime came, the Titans were ahead 4-0.

Geneva didn't go scoreless, though, as sophomore Katherine Estep (Dublin, Pa./Pennridge) received a pass from freshman Katie Bodenmiller (Westfield, N.Y./Westfield Academy and Central) at the top of the box, and her shot just cleared under the crossbar and into the net, putting the Golden Tornadoes on the board in the 57^th minute. 

Westminster added two more goals later in the half to finish out the 6-1 victory.

Geneva was outshot by a large margin, with the Titans holding a 33-9 advantage in shots, including 21-4 in shots on goal.  Freshman Julia Hart (Prospect, Pa./Slippery Rock) kept the margin from being worse by making 15 saves.

"This has certainly been a tough season, but I'm so proud of this team," said Head Coach Doug Miller.  "There is so much love and heart and passion in this group.  From the first game to the final whistle we have battled through injuries and low numbers to only draw closer together as a family.  We will miss our seniors, but I wish them only the best and pray God's guidance wherever they go."

Geneva has a big holes to fill with the three seniors that will need to be replaced, but the Golden Tornadoes have a large incoming recruiting class coming in for the fall, so the program expects to see better days in the future.


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).