BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- The Geneva College women's soccer team put together another strong effort on Saturday afternoon, but despite controlling much of the game, the Golden Tornadoes could not convert their chances and dropped a 1-0 decision to Hiram, falling to 0-1-1 on the year. Hiram improved to 1-1.
The game presented an early season opportunity to see how the program has progressed over the past year after the women lost at Hiram early in the season last year, 6-0, in a game that was very lopsided. The women came into the matchup optimistic after erasing a 2-0 deficit to La Roche on Thursday night, escaping with a 2-2 draw in a game Geneva outshot the Redhawks 32-11.
Geneva controlled their home field right from the start, with several good looks from sophomore Saige Musser (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) and freshman Katie Browning (Orefield, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh), but the Golden Tornadoes couldn't break through. The best chance came in the 43rd minute when Browning sprinted in on goal behind the defense, but her shot was saved. The rebound caromed out to the edge of the box to Musser, whose shot beat the keeper but banged off the crossbar, and the two teams went into the break still scoreless. Geneva held a 13-5 edge in shots in the half.
Those missed chances proved costly early in the second half when Hiram took advantage of one of their few goal-scoring opportunities in the game, scoring just 1:37 into the period to break the scoreless tie.
For the remainder of the game, Geneva kept pushing forward, applying pressure, with several plays ending in frustrating saves or near misses over the crossbar. It was the first-year players that were most active offensively for Geneva, with freshman Sarah Christel (Herndon, Va./Trinity Christian), Browning and Musser combining for seven shots in the half. Geneva almost evened the score in the 83rd minute, but sophomore Julia Robertson's (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) shot from 20 yards out narrowly missed, deflecting off the crossbar, and the Golden Tornadoes eventually ran out of time to find the equalizer.
The stats reflect the control Geneva had on the game, with the Golden Tornadoes holding a 22-8 edge in shots and a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal. Hiram's goalkeeper Skyler Huda was huge for the Terriers, stopping all ten shots on frame and coming off her line well to thwart several Geneva chances.
"The result is obviously frustrating, but that's exactly how we want to play," said second-year Head Coach Kelsey Morrison. "I know we can finish better, and if we move and pass the way we did today, those goals will come. I'm really pleased with the progress we're showing and trust that we'll eventually get rewarded with the chances we are creating. Last year we weren't competitive with Hiram, and this year we really controlled much of the game, no matter what the final score says."
The Golden Tornadoes will look to get into the win column on Monday night at 6:00 p.m. as they host Penn College, who make the trip across the state from Williamsport.
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).
