WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Geneva College men's soccer team were plagued by late-game issues again on Saturday afternoon at Wilmington, giving up two late goals and losing 3-1. Wilmington remained undefeated in improving its record to 7-0-1, while Geneva dropped to 2-4-2. In all four of Geneva's losses this season, the Golden Tornadoes were tied with ten minutes remaining in those games before giving up the game-winners in the closing minutes.
Geneva came into its last non-conference match of the season knowing the undefeated Quakers, who were ranked #3 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Region VII ranking, would present quite the challenge. Wilmington had outscored its seven opponents this season 26-3.
Geneva almost got on the board in the opening minutes when senior Cole Sauer's (Middleburg, Pa./Midd-West) header off a corner kick less than two minutes in was pushed just over the bar. The game settled down into a defensive battle from there, with neither team generating many good scoring chances. Junior goalkeeper Gabe Kemp (Normalville, Pa./Connellsville) did come up with a big save in the closing minute of the half to keep the game scoreless at the break.
Wilmington was the aggressor coming out of the half, and Wilmington broke through in the 60th minute when, after a diving save by Kemp, the rebound went right to the feet of Wilmington's Yusef Muqtadir, who tapped the ball into the net to give the Quakers the lead.
It took only three minutes for the Golden Tornadoes to respond. Geneva earned a throw-in deep in Wilmington territory, and senior Ian Gelsinger's (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) long throw-in found the head of senior Avery Wenger (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim), who headed the ball into the net to pull the Golden Tornadoes level.
Things appeared to be headed for overtime before the late-game issues came back to haunt the Golden Tornadoes again. Wilmington's Jeffery Vazquez received a deflection in the box and put the game-winner into the net with just over three minutes remaining. The Quakers added another goal in the closing minute to put the final nail in the coffin, 3-1.
Wilmington finished with a decided edge in shots, 18-5, including an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal. Kemp made five saves in the loss.
Geneva will open conference play next Wednesday with a road game at Westminster beginning 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).
