Thomas More wins 2012 Men's Soccer PAC Championship

CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.-- The top-seeded Thomas More College men’s soccer program and seventh-year head coach Jeff Cummings captured the Saints’ fourth- straight Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament title Saturday afternoon at The Bank of Kentucky Field as they defeated second-seeded Geneva College 2-0.


The four-straight conference titles is the second-longest streak in the 32-year history of the men’s soccer championships (Bethany won outright or shared conference championship for 22 straight years, 1980-2001).


Saturday’s scoreless opening half saw the Saints total a 5-2 advantage in shots while both Geneva and Thomas More each had one corner kick in the first 45 minutes of play.


The Saints’ initial score of the afternoon came off of the foot of sophomore forward Kyle Troutman (Fairfield, Ohio/Fairfield) just 3:44 into the second half off of an assist by freshman midfielder Tim Knauer (Batavia, Ohio/Batavia). Troutman netted his second goal of the afternoon just 8:56 later to up Thomas More’s lead to 2-0.


Thomas More (13-3-4) sophomore goalkeeper Matt Kees (Covington, Ky./Scott) made just one save to preserve his sixth shutout of the season.


Geneva (9-6-4) sophomore goalkeeper Bryan Butler (Millersville, Md./Annapolis Christian) recorded three saves on the day for the Golden Tornadoes.


Thomas More and Geneva met in the 2011 PAC Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament final with the Saints claiming a 3-2 overtime victory.


Saturday’s title-clinching victory for Thomas More avenged a 1-0 loss to Geneva in Beaver Falls, Pa. on October 13.


To get to Saturday’s 33rd conference championship match Thomas More led from start to finish in its convincing 4-0 home victory over fourth-seeded Westminster College in Wednesday’s semifinal round, while second-seeded Geneva battled third-seeded Grove City College to a scoreless 0-0 tie through 110 minutes of action before earning an 8-7 shootout victory.


Thomas More receives the conference’s automatic bid to next week’s NCAA Division III Championships with first and second round action taking place November 8, 10 and 11. The NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championships selection show is scheduled for Monday, November 5 at 1 p.m. and can be seen live at www.ncaa.com.