BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's soccer team stunned first-place Franciscan on a very cold Tuesday night, knocking off Barons 4-3, who came into the game undefeated in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play.  The victory came courtesy a late goal from sophomore Emma Daku-Treas (Northumberland, Pa./Northumberland Christian) with three minutes remaining. The win keeps alive the Golden Tornadoes' slim chances of a PAC playoff berth, improving their record to 4-9-3 overall, 2-5-1 in the PAC, while the loss drops Franciscan's record to 10-4-2, 6-1-2 in the PAC.

It's been a challenging season for the women, who have battled numerous injuries throughout the year.  The Golden Tornadoes won their PAC opening game against Thiel a month ago, but since then had not earned another victory, though Geneva was coming off a quality 1-1 draw at W&J on Saturday.  If Geneva had any chance at a PAC playoff spot, the Golden Tornadoes would need to win their final three games, including Tuesday night's match against a Franciscan squad that was coming off an 8-2 victory over Saint Vincent on Saturday, and get some help.

The Golden Tornadoes didn't look like a struggling team on Tuesday, though, attacking early and controlling things in the opening minutes against the PAC's leading offensive team.  Their early strong play was rewarded when Geneva got on the board first in the 12^th minute.  Sophomore Saige Musser (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) made a run down the left side and found Daku-Treas in the box.  Daku-Treas spun around five yards from goal and passed a ball across the net to sophomore Jenna Hartman (Beaver Falls, Pa./Homeshool), who found herself open on the far post and tapped the ball into the net.

The lead didn't last long, though.  Just a minute later, the Barons converted a chance in the box off the foot Mary Wieszczek to pull Franciscan even at 1-1.

Geneva caught a break just two minutes later.  Daku-Treas sent a cross through the box that Hartman was running onto.  A Franciscan defender tried to chest the ball back to the keeper just a few yards from net and inadvertently sent the ball into the net to give the Golden Tornadoes the lead back, 2-1.  The Barons again almost had an immediate response, but a Franciscan goal just over a minute later was disallowed due to offsides.

The women caught one more break in the 32^nd minute.  Musser made a run down the left side again, cut back at the endline and put a cross through the box and into the run of Hartman on the far post.  Hartman's shot from five yards away hit off the post and then bounced directly off the leg of the goalkeeper and back into the goal.  Hartman was credited with her second goal of the game to extend the Geneva lead to 3-1.

Franciscan was able to pull one back with six minutes to go when Tania Davidson, the league's leading scorer, hit a tremendous shot into the far upper corner from a tough angle, her 18^th goal of the season, to cut the Geneva edge down to 3-2 heading into the halftime break.  The Golden Tornadoes held a 10-8 advantage in shots in the half.

The Barons pushed forward early in the second half looking for the equalizer.  Geneva had some counterattack opportunities, but Franciscan eventually pulled level in the 71^st minute courtesy another great effort from a Baron, this time Juliana Rubino, Franciscan's other potent striker.  Rubino made a run through the box and put one just under the bar with her left foot, knotting the score at 3-3.

Both teams battled over the final 20 minutes, with both teams creating chances, and it came down to a matter of inches late.  Davidson made another long run for Franciscan with five minutes remaining, and her shot from ten yards away beat sophomore goalkeeper Jade Farnsworth (New Brighton, Pa./Riverside) high, but it banged off the crossbar and Farnsworth recovered to jump on the loose ball.

Just two minutes later, Geneva found the game-winner.  Sophomore Lillie Berryman (Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Christian) sent a corner kick into the box which senior Lydia Beare (Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Christian) got her head to, sending the ball to an open Daku-Treas in the middle of the box.  Daku-Treas took one touch and shot the ball into the far post to give Geneva the lead back in dramatic fashion, and the Golden Tornadoes held on for a dramatic 4-3 victory.

The final stats showed a very even game.  Both teams finished with 15 shots, with Franciscan holding a slim advantage in shots on goal, 8-6.  Geneva held a 6-3 edge in corner kicks.  Farnsworth made five saves in the win.

The women will wrap up the home portion of their schedule on Saturday when they host Chatham at 4:30 p.m.  The Golden Tornadoes will need to win that match, defeat Waynesburg on the road next Wednesday, and then get a couple other matches to go their way to have a chance to qualify for the PAC postseason.

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).