BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva men's soccer team's struggles continued on Saturday night at home against Defiance, with the Golden Tornadoes' penchant for giving up late goals biting Geneva once again. The Golden Tornadoes were unable to hold onto a second-half lead for the second straight game, and this time Geneva couldn't even salvage a draw as Defiance stunned the Golden Tornadoes with a goal in the closing seconds to defeat Geneva 2-1. Defiance evened its record at 4-4, while Geneva fell to 1-3-2.
The first half went just like the last four matches had gone for Geneva, scoreless for both teams, with the Golden Tornadoes controlling much of the possession, but unable to find a goal despite outshooting Defiance 8-3.
Senior Ian Gelsinger (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) finally broke through in the 59th minute when his header off a long free kick from senior Cole Sauer (Middleburg, Pa./Midd-West) found the back of the net. Unfortunately, as has been the case in four straight games now, Geneva conceded late.
The first goal came in the 74th minute against the run of play. Jack Stanoikovich got on the end of a corner kick on the back post and evened the score at 1-1. Geneva pushed for the game-winner late, with freshman Kyle Lapoure's (Colorado Springs, Colo./The Classical Academy) shot from just outside the box nailing the crossbar in the 82nd minute.
Disaster struck in the final seconds. Chase Stiner made a late run and beat junior goalkeeper Gabe Kemp (Normalville, Pa./Connellsville) to the far post with just 12 seconds remaining, stunning the Golden Tornadoes and extending Geneva's winless streak to five matches, 2-1.
The stats showed a similar storyline for the Golden Tornadoes. Geneva once again had more of the possession and generated more shots, but it was unable to find enough goals to secure a win. The Golden Tornadoes outshot Defiance 14-8, including a 9-5 edge in shots on goal. Geneva also held a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Geneva will hope to find better play on the road after securing just one win in its long season-opening homestand. The next three games will be on the road, beginning with a match at Baldwin Wallace on Wednesday 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 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).
