BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The top-seeded Geneva College men's soccer team overwhelmed visiting Waynesburg on Wednesday night in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Semifinals on Reeves Field, defeating the Yellow Jackets 3-1 in a game that was more lopsided than the final score might indicate. The Golden Tornadoes improved to 11-4-4 overall and advance to the PAC Championship on Saturday when Geneva will host No. 3 Grove City at 7:00 p.m.
Geneva came into the match after receiving bye in Saturday's first round by virtue of its top seed in the regular season standings, while No. 4 Waynesburg defeated No. 5 Chatham 4-1 in the PAC Quarterfinals. It was just one week ago that these two teams finished out the regular season with a match on this same field, a game in which Geneva dominated for the first 70 minutes before seeing Waynesburg strike for three late goals before the Golden Tornadoes leveled late to pull out a 3-3 draw.
In the second match between these two teams in a week, it seemed Geneva might have caught a bad break in the early minutes when Waynesburg's Tyler Mohrbacher appeared to take a dive in the box in the ninth minute, convincing the center ref to award the Yellow Jackets a penalty kick, which Mohrbacher then converted to give Waynesburg an early 1-0 lead.
It took the Golden Tornadoes less than two minutes to equalize, though. Geneva earned a corner kick, which sophomore Wil Dunda sent long through the box. Junior Dominic Sambuco corralled the ball before it went out of bounds, and after taking a couple touches, he sent a beautiful ball back through the box to the far post, where junior Kyle Lapoure ran onto the ball and just touched it over the line to pull the Golden Tornadoes level.
Geneva continued its assault on the Yellow Jacket goal, and it was only the strong play of Waynesburg's goalkeeper Michael Francus, along with some errant shots from the Golden Tornadoes, that kept things even.
Geneva eventually broke through again, though, in the 24th minute. Sophomore Gabe Singh made a great dribbling run down the left side of the field, beating the Yellow Jacket defense with his speed to the endline. Singh then slotted a ball across the box that Dunda tapped off the inside of the near post and into the net, giving the Golden Tornadoes a lead they would ultimately never relinquish.
The men had a couple more great chances over the final 20 minutes, but Geneva couldn't find a third goal in the first half and went into the break holding a 2-1 edge, despite a 13-2 advantage in shots.
The second half was more of the same from Geneva, who controlled the entire final 45 minutes. Waynesburg did have one great chance eleven minutes into the half, though, when a loose ball in the box off a corner kick fell to Waynesburg's Mason Lewis, and his shot from 15 yards away appeared ticketed for the upper part of the net before junior Evan Shale made a leaping fingertip save to push the ball just over the bar, enabling Geneva to hold on to its lead.
Two minutes later, the Golden Tornadoes found their insurance goal. Geneva earned a free kick just outside the corner of Waynesburg's box. Dunda slotted the ball to Sambuco near the endline, who sent a ball into the box. The ball deflected to Singh who sent a low pass to senior Carnel Kerr at the far post, and Kerr one-timed a left-footed shot into the upper corner of the net to give Geneva a 3-1 advantage.
The Golden Tornadoes had multiple chances over the final 30 minutes to add to their lead, but Geneva was unable to find the net. More importantly, though, the Golden Tornado defense completely shut down the Yellow Jacket attack and saw out the 3-1 win, despite some physical, rough play late.
The final stats showed how dominant Geneva was. The Golden Tornadoes finished with a 23-3 advantage in shots, with most of the game being played on Waynesburg's side of the field. Lapoure and Kerr were especially active, combining for 11 shots between the pair.
Geneva will now turn its attention to Saturday's PAC Championship match with Grove City. The Wolverines opened the PAC Playoffs with a 2-1 overtime victory over No. 6 Allegheny, and Grove City followed that up with an impressive 4-1 victory at No. 2 Franciscan on Wednesday night in the other PAC Semifinal match. Geneva defeated Grove City earlier this year, 1-0, in a tight match between the two squads.
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).
