HIRAM, Ohio – The Geneva College men's soccer team earned an important 3-1 victory at Hiram on Saturday afternoon, increasing its chances of qualifying for the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) playoffs in two weeks. The win improves the Golden Tornadoes' record to 5-8-1 overall, 4-3-1 in the PAC. The victory is an important one, considering Hiram came into the day tied with Geneva for fourth place in the PAC standings, and it is another sign the men have returned to form after a bit of a slump early in conference play.
Geneva dominated play right from the kickoff, pushing for an early goal, and the Golden Tornadoes' strong play was rewarded in the 21st minute when senior Wil Dunda sent a well-paced pass through the backline of the Hiram defense and into the run of freshman Msafiri Amisi, and Amisi calmly finished past the Terriers' keeper to give Geneva an early lead. The goal was the result of a beautiful sequence of build-up play leading to the score, and this is now the third straight match Amisi has found the back of the net.
The Golden Tornadoes had chances to extend their lead as the half moved along, but it was actually Hiram that stunned Geneva with a goal against the run of play with two minutes remaining, sending the match into halftime tied at 1-1.
Geneva rebounded well to conceding, though, and retook the lead 12 minutes into the second half when Amisi found sophomore Luke Main open in the middle of the box, and Main beat the keeper to the far post.
The Golden Tornadoes again controlled most of the half, and Geneva put the game away with a third goal with five minutes left. Senior Noah Dworakowski stole the ball 65 yards away from goal and made a tremendous 50-yard run through the middle of the Terriers' defense, and as the final two Hiram defenders converged on him in the box, he slid the ball over to a senior Gabe Singh who scored from ten yards out to seal the victory, 3-1.
Geneva finished the match with a 19-13 advantage in shots, led by Amisi's five attempts. Freshman goalkeeper Noah Buchanan made five saves to earn the win in net.
The men still have work to do, though, to qualify for the postseason with three regular season matches remaining. Geneva will try to extend its winning streak on Wednesday to three games when the Golden Tornadoes travel to Chatham for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
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).
