Geneva men’s soccer falls in PAC Championship on penalty kicks to Westminster - Geneva College
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Geneva men’s soccer falls in PAC Championship on penalty kicks to Westminster

Picture of Geneva men’s soccer falls in PAC Championship on penalty kicks to Westminster

Beaver Falls, PA - It’s probably appropriate, but 110 minutes of play wasn’t enough to decide the Presidents’ Athletic Conference men’s soccer championship. Westminster won on penalty kicks, outscoring Geneva 4-2.

After two halves and two overtimes, 2nd-seeded Geneva and 4th-seeded Westminster were scoreless.

Both teams had scoring chances in regulation although most of the play was dominated by defense. Geneva freshman goalkeeper Luke Nolan (Wexford, PA/North Allegheny) and Westminster goalkeeper Tyler Little were up to the task.

“We had a couple of opportunities, but we couldn’t convert them,” said Geneva coach Gary Dunda. “I thought we prepared very well but in a conference championship, anything can happen. The ball didn’t bounce our way.”

In the first overtime, Westminster had a definite territorial advantage but Nolan was up to the task. In the second overtime, Geneva had a corner kick in the final seconds but didn’t convert.

In the first series of what would have been five penalty kicks, Westminster’s Cody Postupac, Marcus Gurgiolo, and Grant Gagnon made the first three shots, putting Geneva’s back to the wall but sophomore Gib McCracken (Beaver Falls, PA/Beaver County Christian School) and sophomore Zach Lehman (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) connected to keep the Golden Tornadoes alive but Westminster’s Richard Beaudoin found the back of the net to give Westminster the title.

“In a penalty kick shootout, anything can happen,” Dunda said. “We could do it again and have a different result. The game of soccer can be cruel sometimes.”

It was Geneva’s third men’s soccer championship appearance since joining the PAC in 2007, but the Golden Tornadoes have yet to win. Geneva finishes the season 12-4-4, but the season may not be over yet. The ECAC announces its bids Monday afternoon and Geneva hopes to get one.

“It’s not the bid we wanted,” Dunda said. “But it will give us a chance to practice one more week and be together. I told the team that these next moments will determine our character, we will come together as teammates or not.”

Geneva College invites students to step forward and leap ahead with an academically excellent, Christ-centered and affordable education. Offering nearly 40 undergraduate majors, Adult Degree Programs with fully online and campus-based options, and high-demand advanced graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top 10 Best Value with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the inerrancy of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God’s word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today’s world. 

Nov 7, 2015