BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Freshman Mark Bence's brace helped rescue the Geneva men's soccer team from an early deficit against Saint Vincent in the last event of Geneva's Homecoming Saturday, and a late goal from sophomore Msafiri Amisi sealed the victory over the Bearcats, 3-1. The men improved to 6-2-2 overall, 4-1-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), and the squad is now undefeated in its last six matches, going 5-0-1 over that stretch.
Geneva had the better of possession early on, with sophomore Luke Kost's shot in the 5th minute off a rebound going just wide of the post.
Saint Vincent got a fortunate break in the 30th minute to get on the board first. The Bearcats put a corner into the box that bounced around, and as a Geneva defender went to clear the ball, his clearance bounced off the leg of Saint Vincent's Bruno Hurtado and into the Geneva net.
Just seven minutes later, though, Geneva earned a corner kick. Sophomore Logan Pappert played it short to freshman Lucas Albani, and he sent a beautiful curling cross to the back post that Bence beat the keeper to, poking the ball into the net to pull the teams level heading into the halftime break.
Five minutes into the second half, Bence struck again off another set piece. Junior Luke Main sent a free kick from 40 yards away into the box that Bence chested down and beat the keeper from five yards away to give the freshman his second goal of the night, the first brace of his young career.
Saint Vincent began to press forward more aggressively as the second half wound down, and Geneva sealed the win with 20 seconds to go. With the Bearcats all shading into Geneva's box on a long free kick, the Golden Tornadoes cleared the ball down the field and Amisi collected the ball and raced 70 yards alone down the field, dribbling the ball around the keeper and scoring to finish off the victory, 3-1.
The Golden Tornadoes finished with a 13-7 advantage in shots, including a 6-3 edge in shots on goal. Geneva also had a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks. Freshman goalkeeper Eli Stasiowski made two saves to pick up another victory.
The victory moves Geneva into a tie for second place in the PAC standings with W&J, despite playing one less conference match than the Presidents. Saturday's match was the first of a five-game stretch in which the Golden Tornadoes play four of five contests at home. Their lone road match in this stretch will be this Wednesday at Thiel, starting 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).
