Blue and White Open Season With Convincing Win Over Geneva

The Penn State Behrend men's soccer team opened up the season with a convincing 2-0 win over Geneva on Tuesday, September 1.

Behrend and Geneva traded shots early before Jerry Tortella (Pittsburgh/Thomas Jefferson) connected off a sweet pass from freshman Corey Hamilton (Erie/Mercyhurst Prep) at the 23:54 mark of the first period. Tortella, who missed all of last season due to an injury, picked up right where he left off after scoring a team-high 17 goals in 2007.

Then Behrend's Kyle McKinney (Chesterland, OH/West Geauga) was fouled in the box with 6:01 remaining in the first half. He took full advantage of the penalty kick to beat the Golden Tornadoes goalie and create a two goal advantage that held up.

Behrend was tough limiting Geneva to a pair of shots as senior Dustin Walker (Apollo/Kiski) and the defense posted the first shutout of the 2009 season.

Next up for the blue and white will be a pair of contests in this weekend's Herb Lauffer Memorial Soccer Tournament. On Saturday, September 5, Behrend battles Lebanon Valley at 2:00 p.m. on the Behrend Fields. The 4:00 p.m. game features Geneseo against Baldwin-Wallace. Sunday's consolation game is slated for 2:00 p.m. with the final set for 4:00 p.m.