GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Geneva College women's soccer team secured a victory in the closing moments of its Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener at Thiel on Friday afternoon, the winning goal coming off a great run from sophomore Saige Musser (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) with four minutes remaining. The win improves Geneva's record to 3-4-2, 1-0 in the PAC, while Thiel dropped to 2-4, 0-2 in the PAC.
Geneva held the better of the play in the first half, but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't find the net despite a 12-5 advantage in shots. Both teams did have goals disallowed, Geneva's on a foul and Thiel's on an offside call.
The Golden Tornadoes broke through less than two minutes into the second half when freshman Katie Browning (Orefield, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) ran onto a ball over the top and was taken down in the box. Sophomore Emma Daku-Treas (Northumberland, Pa./Northumberland Christian) stepped up and converted the penalty kick to give Geneva a 1-0 lead.
Geneva had some great chances to double its lead over the next 15 minutes. Both Browning and Musser got behind the defense but had their close-range shots saved, while in between Browning hit the crossbar on a shot from just inside the box.
Those mistakes proved costly in the 73rd minute when Geneva's backline and sophomore goalkeeper Jade Farnsworth (New Brighton, Pa./Riverside) miscommunicated about a ball over the top that landed in the box, which allowed Thiel's Marysa Chuey to get to the ball first and chip the ball over Farnsworth and into the net.
Musser came through for Geneva late, though. She took a pass in the 86th minute from Daku-Treas just past midfield, beat Thiel's backline defender and dribbled in on goal. She then cut around Thiel's oncoming goalkeeper and slotted the ball into the net just before Thiel's defender caught up, securing the 2-1 victory for the Golden Tornadoes.
Geneva finished the game with a 26-15 advantage in shots, including a 15-9 edge in shots on goal. Farnsworth made eight saves in the win, while Musser and Browning each led the team with four shots on goal.
The women will be back in action next Wednesday when the Golden Tornadoes host Bethany 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).
