BEREA, Ohio – The Geneva College men's soccer team found itself in a familiar position on a rainy Wednesday night at Baldwin Wallace, its first road game of the season. An early goal by sophomore Carnel Kerr (Flankers, Jamaica/Carlynton) enabled Geneva to take a lead late into the game, and unlike the past two games, the Golden Tornadoes held strong and broke a five-game winless streak with a 1-0 victory against the Yellow Jackets. Geneva improved to 2-3-2, while Baldwin Wallace dropped to 5-4.
The Golden Tornadoes headed out onto the road for the first time this season after beginning the year with a six-game homestand, and awaiting Geneva was a Baldwin Wallace squad that had won its last three matches by a combined score of 10-1, including a 4-0 victory over PAC-opponent Waynesburg. The men also had to battle the elements, with weather proving rainy and windy. Despite the conditions and the opponent, Geneva did something it hadn't done in six games, and that was find the back of the net in the first half.
Baldwin Wallace opened the game in attack mode, but it was Geneva that got on the board in the 14th minute. Kerr received a pass from junior Antonio Fiordilino (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) in the box, slowed down to allow a defender to overrun him, and then he caught the Yellow Jacket's goalie leaning the wrong way and slotted a ball just inside the near post with his left foot.
The goal seemed to settle Geneva down, and after Baldwin Wallace got off four early shots, the Golden Tornadoes defense really locked down, while the offense went on the attack. Geneva never was able to find a second goal despite a couple of chances, but the Golden Tornadoes were able to take the 1-0 lead into halftime, outshooting Baldwin Wallace 6-5.
Geneva had a couple of good chances early in the second half to double its lead from freshman Darren Main (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) and Fiordilino, but neither could convert. From there the defense took over.
Junior Gabe Kemp (Normalville, Pa./Connellsville) came up huge on the Yellow Jacket's first real chance of the second half when, in the 63rd minute, a Yellow Jacket made a run in behind the Geneva defense, but Kemp made a quick-reflex save on a shot from 10 yards away, deflecting the ball wide and keeping Baldwin Wallace off the board.
That proved to be the best chance for the Yellow Jackets all night, and after that, the Geneva defense, along with Kemp, really locked down. The Yellow Jackets were unable to find any success in breaking through the Golden Tornadoes, and Kemp made sure Geneva held on for the much-needed victory.
Geneva held a slim 11-10 edge in shots, while Baldwin Wallace had a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal. Kemp made six save to earn his third shutout of the season.
"I am extremely proud of the determination and fight the boys played with tonight," said Head Coach Gary Dunda. "Baldwin Wallace is a very good team that is well coached. We have taken a few bumps recently, but the boys remained focused on improving and coming together as a group."
The very challenging non-conference schedule finishes up on Saturday with another strong opponent. Geneva travels to Wilmington to take on a Quaker squad that comes into the match undefeated, 6-0-1. Wilmington has outscored its opponents in those seven games, 26-3. The game starts at 5:00 p.m. Geneva opens conference play next week with a road match at Westminster on Wednesday at 7:30 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).
