TIFFIN, Ohio – The Geneva College men's soccer team couldn't hold onto a halftime lead at Heidelberg on Wednesday afternoon, seeing the Student Princes score two second half goals to defeat the Golden Tornadoes, 3-2. Geneva dropped to 3-4-1 as the men head into conference play this weekend.
Geneva controlled things early on, and the Golden Tornadoes had several chances to jump ahead. Midway into the first half, senior Carnel Kerr had a ball fall to him in front of the net, but he couldn't get much of a foot on it and Heidelberg's keeper was able to smoother it. Six minutes later, sophomores Wil Dunda and Jeremy Thompson had a nice give-and-go in the box, but Thompson's shot from 15 yards away went wide.
In the 36th minute, the Golden Tornadoes earned a free kick just outside the box, a dangerous chance for the men. However, the shot into the box was quickly cleared by Heidelberg, who started a quick counter the other way. Hussein Faraj managed to get behind Geneva's last defender at midfield and dribbled all the way in, chipping the ball over junior goalkeeper Evan Shale's head, who had left his line to come and meet Faraj, and into the Geneva net. It was a deflating moment for a Golden Tornado squad that had largely dominated the first half.
The goal, though, seemed to spark Geneva into action. It took only 37 seconds for the men to respond. Sophomore George Cottenden corralled a loose ball in the box, faked with his right foot and brought the ball back to his left, which he then promptly one-timed a shot into the back of the net to pull the Golden Tornadoes level.
Six minutes later, Geneva took the lead when sophomore Caleb Thompson sent a beautiful 40-yard ball over the top of the Heidelberg defense, right into the perfectly timed run of junior Caleb Chambers. Chambers took two touches as he entered the box and sent a shot inside the near post to give the Golden Tornadoes their first lead of the match just a minute before halftime. Geneva held a 15-6 advantage in shots, including an 8-3 edge in shots on goal, at the break.
Junior Kyle Lapoure had a great chance to double the lead early in the second half, but his open shot from ten yards out went over the bar.
Heidelberg was able to pull level five minutes later. After Shale had made a great diving save to preserve the Geneva lead, Faraj hit a shot into the upper corner to even the score at 2-2 eight minutes into the half.
Things only got worse when six minutes later Heidelberg's Alagie Nije got his head on the end of a corner kick and deposited the ball into the back of the Geneva net, putting the Golden Tornadoes behind for the second time in the match.
Geneva pressured over the final 30 minutes, and the Golden Tornadoes had a great chance with three minutes left when a Heidelberg handball in the box gave Geneva a penalty kick, but Dunda's attempt hit the cross bar, and Heidelberg saw the game out, 3-2.
Geneva finished with a 21-10 advantage in shots and a 10-6 edge in shots on goal. The Golden Tornadoes also had a 7-3 lead in corner kicks.
The Golden Tornadoes will not begin conference play this Saturday when Geneva hosts Thiel at 7:00 p.m. on Reeves Field.
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).
