WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Junior forward
Jake Fetterman (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) scored a pair of goals and assisted another as the Washington & Jefferson College men's soccer team downed Geneva College by a 4-2 score in Saturday night's Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship match at Alexandre Stadium.
The PAC title was the first for W&J since the 2007 season and the fourth in school history (2003, 2004, 2007, 2019). All four titles have come with 29th year head coach
Ian McDonald guiding the ship.
Just as they did three weeks ago in a 4-1 road win at Geneva, the Presidents enforced their will offensively to claim their first conference crown in 12 years.
Fetterman opened the scoring in the 13th minute of play when he buried a cross into the box from junior
Alvaro Viadas (Burgos, Spain). The Golden Tornadoes wasted little time in responding with the tying goal, as Michael Pohlod shook free from the defense to tie the score in the 20th minute.
Just before halftime it was Viadas who put the Presidents back in front. After the Presidents drew a foul just outside the box, Viadas blasted home a free kick for his 10th goal of the season. The Viadas goal gave the Presidents a 2-1 edge at halftime.
The Presidents kept the pressure on and the intensity up in the second half. W&J took a two-goal edge in the 51st minute of play when Fetterman set up sophomore
Michael Komaniak for a score. Fetterman found a wide open Komaniak off a corner kick attempt. Komaniak blasted the ball into the back of the net from just outside the top of the box. The goal was the eighth of the season for Komaniak.
Fetterman was in the middle of things again just five minutes later, as the junior was pulled down in the box to draw a penalty kick opportunity. Fetterman converted the penalty kick to give the Presidents a comfortable 4-1 advantage in the 57th minute. The goal was the second of the match and seventh of the season for Fetterman.
Geneva concluded the scoring with a goal in the final seconds by Ian Gelsinger. However, it was too little too late for the GT's as the Presidents bench poured onto the field seconds later to celebrate the PAC championship for the Red and Black.
Samuel Miller (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) picked up the victory in net, as the sophomore made four saves in 64-plus minutes of work.
W&J held advantages in shots (23-13), shots on goal (11-7) and corner kicks (8-1) over Geneva in tonight's match. The four goals tonight helped W&J establish a new single-season school record for goals (53). The old record was 51 goals during the 2002 season.
At the conclusion of the championship, Fetterman was named Most Outstanding Player. The junior recorded two goals and two assists in the two games to lead the Presidents. Fetterman, Viadas, Komaniak and freshman Dylan Majanya (Camp Hill, Pa./Camp Hill) were named to the PAC All-Tournament Team.
With the PAC title in hand, the Presidents will now turn their attention to next week's NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship Tournament. 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.
