WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Geneva College men's soccer team fell into a big hole at Otterbein on Saturday, and despite a valiant second-half comeback, the Golden Tornadoes fell just short in a 3-2 loss. It's the fifth straight one-goal loss for Geneva to open the season.
Things started poorly for the men when the Golden Tornadoes committed a foul in the box just a minute into the game, and Otterbein took advantage by converting the penalty kick to put Geneva in an early hole.
Less than 20 minutes later, Geneva committed another foul in the box, and Otterbein doubled its lead on another penalty kick to take a 2-0 advantage into the halftime break.
Otterbein added to its lead four minutes into the second half off a deflected rebound that was poked into the net, putting the Golden Tornadoes down three goals.
To Geneva's credit, it took the men only 15 seconds to respond. Sophomore Luke Main sent a long ball down the side of the field that freshman Msafiri Amisi ran onto. He beat his man and then sent a pass to the top of the box where senior Wil Dunda beat the keeper to the near post to pull the Golden Tornadoes within two.
Geneva pulled within one goal with just over 14 minutes remaining when senior Gabe Singh found freshman Luke Kost open in the box, and Kost's shot bounced off the inside of the post and into the net.
The men pressed hard over the final stretch of the game, and despite several dangerous moments, the Golden Tornadoes couldn't find the equalizer and suffered another frustrating loss.
The men finished with ten shots total, eight on goal, while Otterbein totaled 16 shots, nine on goal. Freshman Ian Lewis made four stops in goal, while freshman Noah Buchanan saw his first action of the season in the second half and made two saves.
The men have a week off before wrapping up their non-conference schedule with a match at Muskingum next Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Geneva opens Presidents' Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, September 24, with a 7:00 p.m. home matchup against Washington & Jefferson.
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).
