STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Geneva College women's soccer team couldn't slow down the Franciscan attack on Wednesday afternoon, falling to the Barons 5-0 in an important game for the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) postseason. Geneva is now 4-8-2 overall, 3-4-1 in the PAC, while Franciscan improved to 6-7-1, 4-4-1 in the PAC.
Franciscan was the more aggressive team to begin, but Geneva had the best chance early in the game when freshman Abby Stover got behind the Baron defense in the 14th minute, but she couldn't get the ball past oncoming Franciscan goalkeeper Rebekka Dill. The Barons took advantage of Dill's save, collecting the rebound off Stover's shot and going down the field and scoring 30 seconds later on a goal from Tania Davidson.
Five minutes later, Franciscan doubled its lead on a goal from Gabriella De La Torre. Geneva settled down after the initial Baron surge, and the Golden Tornadoes had the better of the play over the next 20 minutes. It was only the great work of Dill that kept Geneva off the board, as she made three tough saves, one off the foot of junior Saige Musser and two off shots from junior Olivia Anson.
Franciscan then struck for a third goal in the closing seconds of the half. The Barons earned a corner kick, and after the ball bounced around, Elise Winogradoff poked the ball into the net with 15 seconds left, giving the Barons a 3-0 lead going into the break, despite Geneva holding a 7-4 edge in shots on goal in the half. It was unfamiliar territory for the Golden Tornadoes, who had not given up more than one goal in a first half all season.
The second half was scoreless for most of the way before Franciscan added two goals in the closing minutes to finish out the scoring.
The women are now in a position where they will likely need to win their last two games of the year to qualify for the postseason. Geneva plays at Chatham on Saturday, and then the women host Waynesburg next Tuesday for the final regular season match of the year.
Through purposeful learning in a community reflecting the full spectrum of God's kingdom, a Geneva College experience inspires students to discover a faith-life calling in service to God and neighbor. Offering 195+ traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality and affordability. 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 the International Association for Christian Education (IACE).
