BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Junior Carnel Kerr's early goal on Saturday in men's soccer's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Quarterfinal matchup with rival Westminster on Reeves Field proved to be the only goal of the game as Geneva advanced to the PAC Semifinals with a 1-0 victory over the Titans. This was the fourth straight season these two teams have met in the PAC playoffs. Geneva improved to 10-3-6 and will travel to take on Franciscan on Wednesday.
Just three minutes into the game, before fans were barely settling into their seats, Kerr put Geneva on top. Sophomore Darren Main made a great run into the right side of the box and sent a cross through the middle that Kerr drilled into the net from five yards away, getting the Golden Tornadoes off to a tremendous start.
The game began to settle down after Kerr's goal, with neither team able to generate many more great chances. The Golden Tornado defense completely controlled the Titan offense, with Westminster able to only generate one shot that was well off the mark in the half. Geneva finished the half with just three shots and took a 1-0 lead into the break of a very physical and chippy, at times, match. The Titans had 12 fouls and two cards at the break.
The game opened up a bit more in the second half as Westminster pushed for an equalizer. Geneva's defense largely stymied the Titan offense. Westminster's one good chance came in the 74th minute when a loose ball caromed to Jacob Steinbeck for an open look from 10 yards away, but senior goalkeeper Gabriel Kemp smothered the ball with a diving stop.
Kerr almost scored with four minutes remaining when his laser from just outside the box banged off the crossbar. A few moments later, Geneva appeared to have scored a second goal when sophomore Dominic Sambuco's long ball into the box bounced over the head of Westminster goalkeeper Jad Jadallah's head. Jadallah scrambled back to grab the ball, but the ball appeared to have crossed the goal line before Jadallah corralled the ball, but play was allowed to continue on.
Regardless, the missed call didn't hurt Geneva as the Golden Tornadoes closed out the 1-0 victory to advance on in the playoffs.
Geneva finished the game with an 11-7 advantage in shots and a 3-2 edge in shots on goal. Kemp earned his third straight shutout with two saves.
"I'm really proud of our guys today, and really happy for our seniors," said Head Coach Gary Dunda. "This was a really good win, and we're excited to be moving on."
Geneva will travel to No. 2 Franciscan to take on the Barons on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The men defeat Franciscan 2-1 two weeks ago in their regular season matchup. In the other PAC Semifinal, No. 1 Grove City will host No. 5 Bethany.
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).
