W&J claims first PAC title since 2007
All-Tournament Team
WASHINGTON, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--Top-seeded Washington & Jefferson College earned a 4-2 victory over second-seeded Geneva College in the title match of this year's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Soccer Championship Tournament Saturday night at Alexandre Stadium.
The PAC title is the first for W&J (12-7-2) since 2007. The Presidents own four conference championships (2003-04, 2007, 2019). It was the program's 10th appearance in championship tournament's title match.
Geneva (10-9-1), making its sixth appearance in the title match, won the conference championship in 2016.
W&J will also receive the conference's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Forty-two conferences will be granted automatic qualification for the 2019 championship. Team selections, along with the identification of the 16 first and second round host sites, for the 64-team Division III Championship are scheduled to be announced Monday, Nov. 11 at 1:30 p.m. with an online selection show available at ncaa.com. First and second round matchups are scheduled for Friday-Sunday, Nov. 15-17.
| Saturday, Nov. 9 |
PAC Championship Tournament [Title match]
No. 2 Geneva at No. 1 W&J
Alexandre Stadium--Washington, Pa. |
Result: W&J 4, Geneva 2
Box score |
W&J junior Jake Fetterman (Pottstown, Pa. | The Hill School) scored in the 13th minute off of an assist from senior Gary Olson (Erie, Pa./North East) … Geneva evened the match at 1-1 on a goal by senior Michael Pohlod (Gibsonia, Pa. | Pine-Richaland) in the 20th minute … W&J junior Alvaro Viadas (Burgos, Spain) scored his 10th goal of the season on free kick in the 40th minute, giving the Presidents a 2-1 lead going into the break … Sophomore Michael Komaniak (Oakmont, Pa. | Riverview) scored off of a Fetterman assist in the 51st minute to push the lead to 3-1 … Fetterman scored his second goal of the match on a penalty kick in the 57th minute to extend the lead to 4-1 … Geneva sophomore Ian Gelsinger (Greencastle, Pa. | Greencastle-Antrim) closed the scoring in the 90th minute … Sophomore Samuel Miller (Lewisburg, Pa. | Lewisburg) picked up the victory in net, finishing with four saves in 64-plus minutes … Freshman Gabe Kemp (Normalville, Pa. | Connellsville) had seven saves for Geneva … W&J finished with an 11-7 edge in shots on goal and an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks … Saturday’s four goals helped W&J establish a new single-season school record for goals (53) … The previous record was 51 goals, scored during the 2002 season. |
| Wednesday, Nov. 6 |
PAC Championship Tournament [Semifinal 2]
No. 4 Grove City at No. 1 W&J
Alexandre Stadium--Washington, Pa. |
Result: W&J 2, Grove City 1 (2OT)
Box score |
W&J last hosted the league's title match in 2007, winning its third PAC title as the No. 3 seed ... It was the program's third championship in five years ... The Presidents will be making their first appearance in the title match since 2013 ... Freshman Dylan Mayanja (Camp Hill, Pa. | Camp Hill) scored off of an assist from junior Jake Fetterman (Pottstown, Pa. | The Hill School) in the 31st minute to give W&J a 1-0 lead ... Grove City freshman Sam Belitz (Independence, Ohio | Independence) tied the match in the 90th minute ... It was his fifth goal of the year ... Mayanja tallied the game-winner in the 104th minute of action, scoring off the rebound of a shot fired in by freshman Zach Bowser (Beaver, Pa. | Beaver) ... The goal was Mayanja's team-leading 10th of the season ... Junior Ian Donlon (Latham, N.Y. | Albany Academies) and sophomore Samuel Miller (Lewisburg, Pa. | Lewisburg) combined to make six saves in the win ... Sophomore Luke Greenway (Penn Hills, Pa. | Penn Hills) stopped eight shots for Grove City ... W&J finished the match with advantages in shots on goal (10-7) and corner kicks (8-5). |
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| Wednesday, Nov. 6 |
PAC Championship Tournament [Semifinal 1]
No. 3 Westminster at No. 2 Geneva
Reeves Field--Beaver Falls, Pa. |
Result: Westminster 0, Geneva 0 (2OT); Geneva wins in penalty kicks 4-3 (5 rds.)
Box score |
Wednesday's semifinal between Westminster and Geneva was the first to go to penalty kicks since 2013 ... Geneva closed out its regular season Saturday night with a 1-0 double overtime victory at Westminster Saturday night to lock up the No. 2 seed ... Geneva appeared in three-straight title matches from 2015-17, winning the PAC championship in 2016 as the tournament's top seed ... Senior Devaughn Johns (Mount Pleasant Mills, Pa. | Midd-West), junior Kevin Pasho (Smithville, Ohio | Central Christian), junior Zach O'Connor (Darlington, Pa. | Blackhawk) and junior Chase Baxa (Slippery Rock, Pa. | Slippery Rock) scored in the shootout for Geneva ... Junior Nate Burkhart (Greensburg, Pa. | Hempfield) entered prior to the shootout and made a save on Westminster's first round attempt ... Freshman Gabe Kemp (Normalville, Pa. | Connellsville) earned the shutout for the Golden Tornadoes, totaling seven saves in 110 minutes of work ... Senior Peter Mattocks (Saegertown, Pa. | Saegertown), senior Nick Cimini (Mars, Pa. | Mars) and senior Ahmed Cisse (Germantown, Md. | Clarksburg) scored in the shootout for Westminster ... Senior Ezra Cimino (Brookline, Mass. | Waldorf) earned the shutout for Westminster, stopping a pair of shots ... Westminster, last year's PAC champion, held advantages in shots on goal (7-2) and corner kicks (10-2). |