Houghton, NY - It′s becoming quite the norm for the Geneva College men′s soccer team to have the result of its games decided on penalty kicks. For the second time this season, the Golden Tornadoes advanced in post-season play thanks to a penalty kick victory. Fourth seeded Geneva and top seeded Houghton hooked up in a 1-1 tie at Houghton on Friday evening in the NCCAA East regional semi-finals. The Golden Tornadoes will advance to Saturday′s championship match thanks to a 3-2 penalty kick victory that featured three consecutive saves from sophomore goalkeeper Bryan Butler. Geneva moved its record to 10-6-5 on the season as it prepares to face the winner of the second semi-final match between Roberts Wesleyan and Nyack.
Jon Mathoslah got Geneva on the board 13 minutes into the match when he took a feed from Jeb Nash and found the back of the net. Houghton knotted the game just eight minutes later and that would be all the scoring through the remainder of regulation and overtime. Bryan Butler made eight saves through the first 110 minutes but saved his biggest three saves for the penalty kick stage.
Houghton opened the penalty kicks with a goal which was immediately followed by a Geneva miss. The Highlanders scored again in round two with Jeremey Troutman giving Geneva its first goal in round two. It was at that point that Butler took over. The sophomore goalkeeper made three consecutive saves to give Geneva the victory as the Golden Tornadoes advanced to the NCCAA East regional championship for the second time in two years.
Geneva will take its shot in the finals on Saturday at 4:30 with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCCAA national tournament at the end of the month. The Golden Tornadoes finished the 2011 season as the NCCAA national runners-up.
Geneva College is a comprehensive Christian college of the arts, sciences and professional studies. Founded in the tradition of the Reformed Christian faith, Geneva prepares students to serve Christ in all areas of society: work, family and the church. Geneva College′s philosophy of education is based on the Foundational Concepts of Christian Higher Education. Geneva is a founding member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU).
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