NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Westminster College scored two late goals, less than a minute apart, in Geneva's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener with the Titans on Wednesday night, and Westminster came away with a 2-0 victory. The loss snapped a 15-game unbeaten streak for the Golden Tornadoes in this rivalry, with the Titans' last victory coming in 2008. Westminster improved to 5-5 overall, 1-0 in the PAC, while Geneva fell to 2-5-2, 0-1 in the PAC.
The first half was played fairly evenly between the two squad, as is often the case when Geneva and Westminster match up. Senior Alex Yoder (Milton, Pa./Milton) almost found a goal early on, first when his short header off a long throw-in was narrowly saved in the 6th minute, and then two minutes later when his shot went just high over the corner of the frame.
Junior goalkeeper Gabe Kemp (Normalville, Pa./Connellsville) came up with a tough save in the 25th minute the first time he was called into action, and neither team could find a goal, with the game going to halftime scoreless. Geneva outshot Westminster 7-6 in the half.
Westminster put the early pressure on for the first 15 minutes of the second half, and Kemp made multiple big saves to keep the Titans off the board. Just as quickly, though, things turned, with Geneva dominating the play over the next 15 minutes, with freshman Darren Main (Denver, Pa./Colalico) almost scoring in the 73rd minute when his shot from short range hit the post.
With Geneva continuing to push forward with the momentum, Westminster struck on a counterattack. David Stuebgen made a long run down the left side of the field, and just before he crossed the endline, he slotted the ball back into the box to an oncoming Nick Iregui, who one-timed a shot into the back of the net in the 76th minute.
Only 40 seconds later, Geneva caught a bad break when a foul just outside the box was called a penalty. The Titans converted the fortunate call into a second goal, this one from Tyler Catarino, which effectively put Geneva in too big of a hole to climb out of.
Westminster finished the game with a 16-14 advantage in shots, including a 9-7 edge in shots on goal. Kemp made seven saves.
Geneva will be back in action on Saturday when the Golden Tornadoes host Thiel on Homecoming 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).
