BEAVER FALLS, Pa. –Madelyn Hill's first career goal lifted Allegheny to a 2-1, comeback victory over Geneva College in non-conference action.
Trailing 1-0 at the half, senior
Isabella Martinez tied the game with a penalty kick goal in the 64th minute, before Hill capped off the comeback with her strike off of a corner kick in the 85th minute.
The win comes just four days after the Gators (4-3) erased a one-goal deficit against Juniata with three second half goals en-route to a 3-2 win.
Geneva (3-3) had the better of the possession early on, posting three shots and a corner kick in the game's first six minutes. The Golden Tornadoes were unable to connect, however, as two of the attempts were blocked by the Allegheny defense, and the third sailed wide.
The Gators generated their first sustained offense in the 13th minute. A dangerous chance from
Shannon McGuinn was saved, and it led to a subsequent corner kick, but Allegheny came up empty on the set piece.
After several minutes of back-and-forth play contested in the middle third of the field, Geneva regained the momentum.
Maya Hackman made her first save for the Gators in the 25th minute, but Geneva continued to press, and found the scoreboard first with just under 15 minutes left in the first half.
A long through ball was sent to Erica Sumner, and she would then split the Gator defense and put away the breakaway to put the hosts up 1-0.
In the 34th minute, the teams traded shots on goal, with Hackman posting another good save, before Martinez's shot was stopped by the GT's Danielle Lincoln just 40 seconds later.
Six minutes later, another Martinez shot led to a Gator corner with 3:20 left in the half. The ball was sent into the box, and
Alex Klare tried to blast it home, but her shot was blocked. It was the final scoring chance for either team at the half, and Geneva held onto the one-goal lead at the break.
Over the first 45 minutes of play, Geneva held a slim 7-4 advantage in shots, while both teams posted three shots on goal, and took two corner kicks apiece.
The Golden Tornadoes had the first scoring chance of the second half, but Hackman gobbled up a lofting attempt from 20 yards out a minute into the frame.
In the 53rd minute, another through ball split the Gator defense and almost led to prime Golden Tornado scoring chance, but Hackman won a footrace to the ball and smothered it to thwart a potential Geneva breakaway.
With just over 30 minutes left to play, the Gators generated their first sustained offensive threat of the half, leading to a quick deflection in front from Klare after a high through ball. Klare beat her defender, but her lunging shot went just wide.
Geneva was whistled for offsides on their ensuing possession, and another Gator scoring chance developed, but
Amy Barra's header from less than five yards out was saved by Lincoln to preserve the one-goal lead.
The Gators continued to press, and were granted their first corner kick of the half with 26 minutes left. Martinez sent the ball into the box, where it caromed out to
Bryanna Urso. She would let go a blast from 25 yards out that got through the defense, but went just over the cross bar.
Allegheny's offensive pressure paid off with 23:30 left in the half. Another lengthy possession led to Martinez getting free down the left flank. As she cut toward the net, she was tripped from behind less than 10 yards out, leading to a penalty. The Gator veteran would calmly bury it into the lower right corner of the net to even the score at 1-1.
Allegheny had a number of long possessions over the next several minutes, as the Gators continually kept the hosts from entering their offensive end. As time wound down, the Gators would again cash in on their relentless offensive pressure with the eventual game-winner.
With just over six minutes left to play, the Gators were granted another corner kick.
Isabelle Wolter sent it into traffic in the middle of the box. After a couple of deflections, Hill corralled it and blasted it just inside the crossbar for the go-ahead goal with 5:45 left in regulation.
Geneva tried to mount a late counter, but Allegheny's defense kept the Golden Tornadoes at bay to clinch the Gators' second straight comeback victory.
The Gators' edge in possession over the second half was evidenced by their 7-1 advantage in shots over the final frame, while Allegheny also doubled up the Golden Tornadoes in corner kicks, 4-2. Martinez topped the Gators with three shots, while McGuinn and Hill tallied two apiece.
Hackman earned the win in goal, finishing with three saves.
Allegheny will now open up North Coast Athletic Conference play with a 12 p.m. match at Denison on Saturday, September 22.
