NOVEMBER 1, 2012

King's Men's Soccer Set to Take on Misericordia in Freedom Conference Playoffs
 
Wilkes-Barre -- The King's College men's soccer team returns to the Freedom Conference playoffs on Friday when the third-seeded Monarchs travel to second-seeded Misericordia University for a 4:00 p.m. start at the Anderson Outdoor Athletic Complex.

Tickets prices, as set by the Middle Atlantic Conferences Office, are set at $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for students, while children under age-six will be admitted free.

Fans unable to attend can follow the game on LiveStats at the following link: 
http://www.sidearmstats.com/misericordia/msoc/xlive.htm

Live lideo is expected to be available at:
http://mac.ezstream.com/
King's closed out the regular season with a 10-5-2 overall record and a 4-2-1 conference mark after playing to a 0-0 double-overtime tie with Wilkes in its regular season finale Saturday night.

The Cougars went 11-6-2 overall and 5-1-1 in league play including a 2-1 victory over the Monarchs on Oct. 20. The Cougars fell painfully close to earning the top seed as Misericordia lost to Manhattanville 1-0 in overtime on Saturday, giving the Valiants the top seed.
 
Freshman Daniel Hernandez leads the Monarch offense with 18 points on seven goals and four assists. Fellow freshman Chris Nygren has posted a team-high eight goals and one helper for 17 points.

David Stroh has also tallied 17 points on six goals and five assists. Kevin Buchanan has notched 12 points with a team-leading six assists and three goals.

Mark Labbadia has started 14 games in net for King's making 51 saves and allowing 16 goals. Labbadia boasts a 1.17 goals against average and a .761 save percentage. The Cougars have split time in net with Billy Sopko making the last seven starts. Sopko has made 29 stops and posted a 5-1-1 record between the pipes.
 
The Monarchs are making their third appearance in the conference playoffs under head coach Mark Bassett. King's dropped a 1-0 loss to Manhattanville in its last tournament appearance in 2009. The Monarchs last playoff victory came in 2007 when King's played to a 0-0 tie with Wilkes and advanced 4-3 on penalty kicks.

The Cougars are led offensively by senior Andy Bush. Bush leads the Freedom Conference with 29 points on a conference-leading 13 goals with three assists. Nick vonEgypt has notched four goals and four helpers for 12 points.
 
 
In the other semifinal game on Friday, fourth-seeded FDU-Florham, propelled by a 4-2 win over DeSales in a win-and-in situation on Saturday, will take on top-seeded Manhattanville who knocked off Misericordia 1-0 in overtime to claim the top spot.

The winner of the semi-final games will play for the Freedom Conference Sunday at a time to be announced at the site of the highest remaining seed.