GREENVILLE, Pa. – Senior Cole Sauer (Middleburg, Pa./Midd-West) scored the opening two goals for the Geneva men's soccer team in its Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener at Thiel on Friday night, sending the Golden Tornadoes on to a 3-0 shutout of the Tomcats. Geneva improved its record to 4-2-3, 1-0 in the PAC, while Thiel dropped to 0-7-2, 0-2 in the PAC.
It took a little while for Geneva to get its offense going. The Golden Tornadoes' first real chance came in the 34th minute when sophomore Caleb Chambers (Aston, Pa./Christian Academy) jumped on a defensive turnover and went in on goal, but his shot was deflected wide by Thiel's goalkeeper Nick Kristian. That seemed to ignite Geneva's offense, as the Golden Tornadoes turned up the pressure. Kristian came up big for the Tomcats twice by tipping shots just over the bar, and another Geneva shot was cleared off the line.
The Golden Tornadoes finally found the back of the net with less than a minute remaining in the half. Freshman Wil Dunda (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) delivered an accurate corner kick that found Sauer's looping run to the back post wide open, and Sauer volleyed the ball into the open net from three yards out to send Geneva into the break with a 1-0 lead. The Golden Tornadoes had an 11-1 edge in shots in the half.
Kristian came up with a couple more tough saves early in the second half to try to keep the Tomcats in the game. Sauer eventually doubled the Geneva lead in the 57th minute, though, off another Golden Tornado corner kick. Dunda sent a short corner to sophomore Kyle Lapoure (Colorado Springs, Colo./The Classical Academy) along the endline, and Lapoure sent the ball back to Dunda at the top of the box. Dunda sent another cross into the box and found Sauer again at the back post. This time Sauer used his head to send the ball back across the net and into the far corner, increasing the Geneva lead to 2-0.
Three minutes later, junior Justin Finnegan (Pleasant Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) effectively put the game away when he took a pass 30 yards from the goal, took one touch and sent a curling left-footed shot that went just inside the far post. Geneva closed out the victory from there, preserving the shutout, 3-0.
Geneva finished with a 22-8 advantage in shots, including a 15-6 edge in shots on goal. Senior Gabriel Kemp (Normalville, Pa./Connellsville) made all six saves to earn his third shutout of the season.
The men, who have been playing their best soccer of the season over the past two weeks, will next host Bethany on Tuesday for an important conference matchup. The Bison, who have a 4-2-2 record, won the PAC Championship last season and were picked second in this season's PAC preseason poll. Kickoff on Reeves Field is slated for 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).
