BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Freshman Julia DiFilippantonio scored on a beautiful 30-yard strike early in the second half on Tuesday night to give the women an important 1-0 victory over Washington & Jefferson in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener for both teams. Geneva improved to 2-3-3 overall, but more importantly 1-0 in the PAC.
W&J had the better of the possession for most of the first half, but the Presidents couldn't find any success in breaking through the Geneva stout backline. The shots W&J did take were from distance and easily handled by freshman goalkeeper Natalie Foster.
Geneva's best sequence came midway through the first half when freshman Ruth Bartley and junior Elliana Zwatty put together a give-and-go in the W&J box, but Zwatty's shot went just wide and into the side netting of the goal.
The women broke through five minutes into the second half. DiFilippantonio collected a clearance 30 yards from goal, took a touch and then drilled a shot into the upper corner of the goal, just over the outstretched arms of W&J goalkeeper Molly Schoch. The goal broke a scoreless streak of over 600 minutes for the Golden Tornadoes, dating back to junior Noelle Beare's goal in the season-opening victory at Juniata.
The Geneva defense, which has been so strong all year, really locked down over the final 40 minutes, but not without some nervous moments late. W&J had a golden opportunity to equalize with 17 minutes to go when a cross through the box found W&J's top scorer Alexa Taylor all by herself ten yards from goal, but Foster stoned her with a save to keep the Golden Tornadoes in front.
The Golden Tornado defense held steady over the remainder of the match and saw the game out for the important 1-0 victory to start conference play.
Geneva was outshot in the match, 17-7, but the Golden Tornadoes made the most of their chances. Foster made eight saves in posting her fifth shutout already this season.
The women will try to add to their PAC win total on Saturday when Geneva travels to Westminster to take on the Titans at 1:00 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).
