BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Geneva College women's soccer freshman goalkeeper Jade Farnsworth (New Brighton, Pa./Riverside) played huge on Saturday afternoon against the visiting Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets, keeping the Golden Tornadoes in the game all afternoon, but ultimately Geneva came up just short in a 2-1 loss. Baldwin Wallace improved to 4-5, while the Golden Tornadoes fell to 1-6
Geneva knew it was in for a tough game. The Yellow Jackets had defeated a Hiram team last week, 4-0, that the Golden Tornadoes lost to 6-0 in the second game of the season. A lot has changed for Geneva since that game, with the Golden Tornadoes coming into the match after a strong performance against Pitt-Greensburg on Tuesday.
Farnsworth realized early that she was in for a busy day, making four saves in just the first ten minutes. Baldwin Wallace broke through in the 14th minute when Sydney Rice's shot from outside the box found the net just inside the far post. Freshman Lillie Berryman (Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Christian) had a great chance to equalize just a minute later, stealing the ball from the last defender and dribbling in on goal, but her final touch went too far enabling the Baldwin Wallace keeper to grab it.
The Yellow Jackets doubled their lead in the 32nd minute after the Geneva defense, in one of its few mistakes on the day, failed to clear a cross, enabling Alicia Watling to score Baldwin Wallace's second goal.
Geneva, which didn't have many offensive chances in the game, pulled one back just before halftime. In the 42nd minute, junior Lydia Beare (Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Christian) send a long ball into the box that just floated over the head of the last Yellow Jacket defender, and freshman Jenna Hartman (Beaver Falls, Pa./Homeschool) ran onto the ball and headed it into the net to bring the Golden Tornadoes to within 2-1 going into the break.
Baldwin Wallace kept up the pressure in the second half, and Geneva, lacking great depth this season, started to tire. Farnsworth continued to come up big, though, and the Golden Tornadoes kept the Yellow Jackets mostly outside the box, forcing longer shots that Farnsworth had enough time to save. Geneva could never get anything going offensively, though, and never threatened to find the equalizer before falling, 2-1.
The final stats showed how much Baldwin Wallace controlled the game, outshooting Geneva 30-3, including 17-1 on goal. Farnsworth made a career-high 15 saves in the loss.
The women will open conference play next Wednesday with a 5:30 p.m. match at Westminster.
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).
