Eagles blank Falcons for first win of season in county boys soccer match

HARPERSFIELD — Coaches David Bell and Jamie Lee both said the Jefferson and Geneva boys soccer teams, respectively, have been working on a lot of different things in the early going of the 2026 season.

On Tuesday night though, Lee's Eagles earned a 2-0 victory at SPIRE Academy.

The game was decided by a couple of kicks in the net, but Geneva's defense was the most influential factor.

"It's something we've been working hard on this year," Lee said of the defensive effort. "I didn't think we did as well as we should have, but we still came away with the win, so we're very happy with that because the boys needed a confidence boost."

Geneva earned its first win the after starting the season with losses to West Geauga 4-1 and Harvey 4-2.

Against the Falcons, the Eagles' midfielders were able to keep the ball in their offensive end and limit Jefferson's opportunities to mount any attacks.

"We are trying to work more on passing and not dribbling so much, so controlling the midfield is something we've been working on, and we did do that well [Tuesday night]," Lee said.

Drew Clutter put the Eagles on the board by taking a perfectly placed pass from Tanner Williams right in front of the goal box and sending it into the net for a 1-0 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the first half.

The score stayed 1-0, until the Eagles received an insurance goal on a header by Zach McKinney off a corner kick in the second half.

But the bigger story was the Eagles defense that kept the frustrated Jefferson all night.

"They had a big defender who slid the mid sometimes, it was really hard to get past him," Bell said. "It was our best player against their best player, and they got the better of it [Tuesday night]."

Geneva outshot the Falcons by a count of 13-3.

Jefferson goalie Gabe Wiliams had eight saves, while Geneva's Randy Doll posted two.

The Falcons, who went winless a year ago, sustained their first loss of the season.

They opened with wins over Brookfield 7-0 and Brooklyn 2-1.

Bell said he believes his team can be much more competitive this fall.

He said the Falcons are still young, but the players who were pushed into starting roles a year ago are all back with a year of experience.

"My expectations this year is to try and go .500," the coach said. "With the schedule we play, I think we can get eight or nine wins. We have nine starters back from last year, six of them were starting as freshmen, and three of them sophomores."

Geneva will be at home against Perry Thursday night.