BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College men's soccer team's stay in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs ended on Wednesday night on Reeves Field, with visiting Grove City scoring early and holding on for a 1-0 victory in the semifinal matchup between the two rivals.  The Wolverines will advance to the PAC Championship game on Saturday to face top seed Franciscan, while the Golden Tornadoes will await a possible bid to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) national tournament.  The loss was Geneva's first of the season, with the Golden Tornadoes now sitting with a 12-1-5 overall record.

The two teams knew goals would be at a premium in the match between the two defensively minded squads.  In fact, the past five contests between these two schools had ended with a 1-0 scoreline, including Geneva's victory at Grove City earlier this season, as well as the Golden Tornadoes' victory over Grove City in the PAC Championship match last season.

Grove City came out with the better of the play early, as Geneva seemed out of sync in the opening minutes, and the Wolverines grabbed that key first goal just under ten minutes into the game.  The Wolverines sent a long throw-in into the box, but Geneva's attempted clearance deflected to Grove City's Matt Hermann at the top of the box, and Hermann sent a shot through traffic and into near corner of the net to stun the Golden Tornadoes.  It was remarkably the first time Geneva had trailed all season.

Geneva's offense never seemed to find a rhythm in the match.  The Golden Tornadoes' best chance in the first half came when senior Caleb Chambers was taken down near the top of the Grove City box.  However, junior Wil Dunda's shot from the resulting free kick went high and over the crossbar, and Geneva went into the break down 1-0.

The second half brought more of the same, and as the clock moved along, Grove City really dropped back and stayed compact along the backline.  The Wolverines never threatened the Geneva goal, but neither could the Golden Tornadoes break through the Grove City defense.  Geneva's only shot of the second half came with 45 seconds remaining when Chambers desperation shot from 20 yards away under pressure went wide of the net.

Grove City finished the game with an 8-6 lead in shots and 3-1 edge in shots on goal as the match finished without either team creating many offensive chances.  In fact, there were just three shots combined between the two teams in the second half.

Tonight's loss was not only the first loss of the season for the Golden Tornadoes, it's also the first time Geneva had failed to advance past Grove City when the two rivals had faced each other in the playoffs since Geneva joined the conference in 2011.  Prior to tonight, the two teams had played five times in the postseason, with Geneva winning four outright while advancing in penalty kicks in the fifth game.

Geneva does stand a good shot at earning a berth into the NCCAA playoffs, which may not be announced for at least a few days.