MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Geneva College men's soccer team fell down early at Allegheny on a beautiful fall afternoon on Wednesday, but the Golden Tornadoes were able to score late to pull out a draw with the Gators, 1-1. Geneva is now 5-3-4 overall, 2-1-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC).
Allegheny got on the board 15 minutes into the game off a defensive turnover in Geneva's end, and Darius Googe made the Golden Tornadoes pay when he scored to give the Gators an early 1-0 lead.
Geneva had a great chance to pull level when senior Antonio Fiordilino (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) was taken down in the box in the 23rd minute, but junior Carnel Kerr's (Flankers, Jamaica/Carlynton) penalty kick was saved, preserving the Allegheny lead.
The Golden Tornadoes had one more good chance in the first half with eight minutes remaining when freshman Jeremy Thompson (Pottsgrove, Pa./Pottsgrove) got open in the middle of the box to receive a Geneva cross, but his open header from eight yards out went over the bar, enabling Allegheny to take a 1-0 lead into the break.
Geneva began to dominate the game coming out of the break, with several chances to find the equalizer in the first 20 minutes. Fiordilino had a close header, sophomore Dominic Sambuco (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) and senior Noah Abdel-Nabi (Recklinghausen, Germany/Recklinghausen) had shots that just went wide, and Kerr had a great look off a break that was pushed just wide.
Despite the close misses, the Golden Tornadoes continued to press the issue for almost the entire half, and sophomore Caleb Chambers (Aston, Pa./Christian Academy) finally broke through with less than five minutes remaining. Chambers made a darting run across the box and then beat the keeper to the near post to enable Geneva to come away with a draw, 1-1.
The final stats showed how much the Golden Tornadoes controlled the match in the second half. After being outshot 7-5 in the first half, Geneva finished with a 17-4 advantage in shots in the second half, including a 5-1 edge in shots on goal.
Geneva now heads to Grove City on Saturday for a big matchup with the Wolverines, who are a perfect 4-0 in the conference while outscoring their PAC opponents 15-0. The game is slated to start at 7:00 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).
