AUGUST 27, 2014

KING'S MEN'S SOCCER TO OPEN SEASON AT HOME FRIDAY  & SATURDAY WITH MONARCH/ROYAL CLASSIC

WILKES-BARRE -- The defending Freedom Conference champion King's College men's soccer team will kick off the 2014 season at home Friday and Saturday with the Monarch Royal Classic at McCarthy Stadium in the Betzler Athletic Complex.

On Friday, the Monarchs of ninth-year head coach Mark Bassett will host Neumann University at 5:30 p.m. before entertaining Penn State Altoona Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

King's comes off a fine 11-5-5 season in which the team won its first-ever Freedom Conference title and earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the first time in program history.
 

The 2014 Monarchs squad welcomes a number of key players from the NCAA tournament team a year ago including All-Freedom Conference selections senior midfielder Niall Croke, junior midfielder Daniel Hernandez, and junior forward Chris Nygren.

Croke, a team co-captain,  posted a team leading 15 points on five goals from the midfield, including three game winning goals and five assists last season. Nygren posted 14 points on four goals and six assists while Hernandez posted 14 points on a team leading six goals and two assists.

Junior Raul Cruz (2 goals), sophomore Brian Fenster, junior Neil McGarry, and freshman Ian Hogan look to contribute from the forward position.

 

Also back in the midfield is senior co-captain Brian Alifano and fellow senior midfielders Anthony Celia, Billy Brown, David Stroh. Senior Korbin Keene , a transfer from Pitt-Bradford, also adds a high level of collegiate experience. Junior Keegan Fees and Eric Foster add experience to the midfield, as does sophomore Erik Foster.  Freshmen Kyle Willis, Brendan Raab, Kevin Hopkins, and Anthony Liddy are all hoping to make an impact.

 

The Monarch defense returns several key players from a team that only allowed 20 goals last season in 21 games while posting eight shutouts. Key returnees include senior defender and team co-captain Mike Smart, senior defender Chris Conaty, sophomore defenders  Philip Kistner and Kevin Hagmeier, and junior defender Tyler Harlan.

Sophomore Steven Lewandowski and freshman Manuel Gonzales and Kevin Mazol also look to factor in.  Last season King's defensive unit allowed just 0.90 goals per-game and Monarch goalies were forced to make just 57 saves the entire year.

The defense will again be critical this year with a first-year goalie in net. Sophomore Tyler Wilson will start but saw limited action last season as a rookie, allowing two goals in three games played.

After the Monarchs complete tournament play on Saturday, the team will plat its first of three straight road games on Wednesday with a 4:00 p.m. game at Elmira College in Elmira, N.Y.

King's will play its first 11 games against non-conference opponents before opening Freedom Conference play October 4 against fellow 2013 playoff qualifier Misericordia. King's defeated Misericordia in the Freedom Conference semi-finals last season in a game decided by overtime penalty kicks.  

The Monarchs will also face a rematch of their 1-0 NCAA national tournament playoff loss when the Monarchs host Lycoming on September 30.