BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – It was a frustrating day of soccer for the Geneva College men's soccer team after the Golden Tornadoes celebrated eight seniors prior to their match against Bethany on Saturday night. The Bison frustrated Geneva all night with a physical, time-wasting style of play and kept the Golden Tornadoes off the scoreboard in the scoreless draw. Geneva extends its shutout streak to nine games with the result and moves its overall record to 10-0-3, while Bethany is 0-10-2 now on the season.
Prior to the game, the men's soccer program took time to honor its eight seniors who have had quite the four-year tenure for the Golden Tornadoes. Haydn Catalon, Evan Shale, Dominic Sambuco, Carnel Kerr, Darren Main, Kyle Lapoure, Caleb Chambers and Ian Tweed were all lauded before kickoff for their accomplishments, including being a big part of last year's Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship run.
When the game kicked off, the opening minutes proved to be a sign of things to come as neither team could gain any rhythm in the choppy game, though Geneva did have some chances to find the net in the first half. Kerr had a clean look eight minutes into the game, but his shot from 15 yards away when straight to the Bethany keeper.
Later in the half, sophomore Ojha Ojha and junior Jeremy Thompson had lanes to the goal off the dribble, but neither could convert either chance into a clean shot, and the game went into the break scoreless.
Geneva really turned up the pressure in the second half, determined to find a winner, while Bethany seemed content to bunker in and play for the draw. The Bison went a man down when Jaheem Sheppard received his second yellow card of the game in the 71st minute, but Geneva could never find the breakthrough goal it was looking for, despite some near misses late, including two from junior George Cottenden. Ultimately, Geneva had to settle for the scoreless draw, the third of the season for the Golden Tornadoes.
Geneva finished the game with a 15-4 edge in shots, including a 5-0 advantage in shots on goal. Catalon and Shale combined for the shutout in goal for the Golden Tornadoes.
The men will try to bounce back against Thiel on Wednesday when Geneva travels to Greenville to take on the Tomcats at 7:30 p.m.
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).
