BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College women's soccer team mounted a furious comeback in its season-opening matchup at home against La Roche on Thursday night.  Despite controlling much of the game, the Golden Tornadoes faced a two-goal deficit with 20 minutes to go, but Geneva rallied with two late goals to salvage a 2-2 tie.  The NCAA eliminated overtimes in college this year in all regular season games, which prevented the Golden Tornadoes from getting an extra 20 minutes to try to find the game-winner in a contest in which Geneva finished the game with all the momentum.

Things could not have started much worse for the Golden Tornadoes.  Senior defender Paige Bartley (Darlington, Pa./Homeschool) was in the possession of the ball near midfield just three minutes into the game when she went down with an injury.  The Redhawk took advantage, stealing the loose ball and going in on a two-on-one break, and Alexandra Mecchia converted to give the Redhawks the early lead.

Geneva almost equalized two minutes later when senior Katherine Estep (Dublin, Pa./Pennridge) made a great run and found freshman Katie Browning (Orefield, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) alone in the box, but Browning's shot from eight yards out went straight to the keeper.  The Golden Tornadoes continued to mount pressure, but it was Mecchia who struck again in the 36^th minute on a counter attack, sending the Redhawks into the break with a 2-0 lead, despite Geneva holding an 11-7 edge in shots.

The Golden Tornadoes took full control in the second half, continuing to push forward repeatedly, with La Roche unable to maintain much possession.  Geneva peppered the Redhawk goal with shots, though the Golden Tornadoes settled for several long-range shots that either went wide or were easily saved.

Sophomore Saige Musser (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) finally broke through in the 70^th minute when she took a pass from Estep and went in on goal, firing a shot inside the near post from 15 yards out to pull the Golden Tornadoes within one.

Geneva continued its onslaught on La Roche's goal, and in the 81^st minute, a loose ball found its way to Browning in front of the goal, but before she could get a shot off, she was dragged down from behind by a Redhawk defender, giving the Golden Tornadoes a penalty kick.  Sophomore Emma Daku-Treas (Northumberland, Pa./Northumberland Christian) calmly stepped up and easily scored into the upper right corner to pull Geneva level.

The Golden Tornadoes had a couple more good chances over the final minutes, but Geneva couldn't find the winner and had to settle for the 2-2 draw.

The final stats show the domination, particularly in the second half.  Geneva finished with a 21-4 edge in shots in the final period, including an 11-1 advantage in shots on goal.  For the game, the Golden Tornadoes held a 32-11 edge in shots and a 15-4 advantage in shots on goal.  Musser was particularly active, finishing with nine shots, six on goal.  Geneva also had a 9-2 edge in corner kicks.

"We have a very young team, and obviously we didn't get off to the start that we wanted to," said Head Coach Kelsey Morrison.  "But we saw a lot of improvement in the second half, and we're looking forward to continuing to iron out our game plan for how to attack and get better each game."

Geneva has a quick turnaround for its next game when the Golden Tornadoes host Hiram at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday on Reeves Field. 

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).