WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 15, 2018) – The King's College men's soccer team will look to take another step towards qualifying for the postseason on Wednesday when they take on DeSales University at 3:30 p.m. in Center Valley. A victory over the Bulldogs will put the Monarchs on the doorsteps of clinching a berth in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom Tournament.
 
Event Details
Opponent: at DeSales University (5-7-1, 1-3-0 MAC Freedom)
Date: Wednesday October 17, 2018
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Center Valley, PA – DUC Soccer Field (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
Last Time Out: King's rallied from an early deficit on Saturday with three first-half goals to defeat Manhattanville 4-2 in Purchase. August Axtman scored his fourth penalty kick of the season and Alexander Showalter's first career goal was the game-winner. Ryan Romeo and Will Brack also scored for KC.

DeSales also played on the road on Saturday falling to host FDU-Florham 1-0 in overtime. The Devils scored the game-winner in the 92nd minute of a very physical battle that resulted in six yellow cards and 31 total fouls.
 
The Book On The Monarchs (8-4-2, 3-1-0 MAC Freedom):

• King's will look to move closer to clinching their seventh consecutive berth and a possible home match in the MAC Freedom Tournament with a win against the Bulldogs on Wednesday. The Monarchs are currently in second place in the standings with nine points, just three behind Eastern. KC and the Eastern will square off to end the regular season next weekend in St. Davids. Behind the Monarchs there is a log jam of four teams tied with six points.
• The Monarchs had their worst week of the season defensively last week conceding four goals but are still the top-ranked defense in the MAC Freedom and ranked high in the nation. KC continues to have played the most minutes of any team in the conference while conceding the least amount of goals. King's moved down to 30th in the nation with a 0.61 goals against average and 32nd with a .571 shutout percentage.
• KC is not only outscoring the opposition 24-9 this season, they are also outshooting them 236-104. King's has outshot their opponent in every match this season and have even put more shots on goal than they have allowed. They have put 44.1% of their shots on goal for 104 total. The Monarch defense is allowing just 7.3 shots per match. The team continues to lead the conference and are now 13th in the nation with 7.00 corner kicks taken per match.
• Defender August Axtman continues to be one of King's top scorers as well as anchoring the defense. The junior captain scored his fourth penalty kick goal of the year, and eighth of his career, on Saturday for his team-leading fifth goal of the year. His five goals this season are tied for sixth in the MAC Freedom. His two game-winning goals are the second-most in the conference and he has been named the MAC Freedom Defender of the Week twice this season.
• Junior forward Aidan DeCamillo recorded another assist on Saturday to give him 10 points on four goals and two assists this year. His .565 shot accuracy is the third best in the conference and he is tied for 12th in points. DeCamillo has recorded a point in all three of King's conference wins.
• Freshman Quentin Szeker-Cortes also added another assist on Saturday as he sits in a tie for fifth in the conference with five. The defender has recorded all his assists off set pieces as he has taken many of the free kicks and corner kicks for the Monarchs.
• Senior keeper Owen Geedey is having one of his best seasons of his impressive career and is a significant reason why King's has one of the top defenses in the nation. The captain has been honored twice as the MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week and is 12th in Division III with 1316:12 minutes played. He has recorded seven shutouts this season which is the most in the MAC Freedom and ranked 14th in the nation. He is currently the school record holder with 29 career shutouts. His .824 save percentage is best in the conference and 64th in the nation while his 0.62 goals against average is 39th in the nation. Geedey has a career GAA of 0.61 which will be a new program record.
• Nine other Monarchs have scored this year lead by sophomore Liam McLoughlin with three goals. Juniors Fabio Massa and Ryan Romeo along with sophomore Sam Pipicelli have scored twice each. McLoughlin has also recorded two assists and is fifth in the conference with 33 shots taken and Massa is sixth with 31.
• King's is 12-22-3 against the Bulldogs in a series dating back to 1981 when DeSales was called Allentown College. The teams played two thrilling matches last year in Wilkes-Barre with DSU winning in overtime 3-2 in the regular season before eliminating the Monarchs from the MAC Freedom Tournament in penalty kicks after a scoreless draw. Prior to last year's meetings the Monarchs had won the previous six meetings with DeSales including four shutouts. King's is 5-11-2 when playing in Center Valley.

The Book On The Bulldogs (5-7-1, 1-3-0 MAC Freedom):

• DeSales is looking to keep their playoff hopes alive on Wednesday following a tough overtime loss at FDU-Florham. The Bulldogs are seventh in the conference standings with three points and a loss will pretty much eliminate them from securing a berth in the conference tournament. DSU was picked to finish second in the preseason poll after a surprising run to the MAC Freedom Championship last year. DSU will finish off the week against Eastern in a rematch of the title match on Saturday.
• The Bulldogs have not played on their grass field much this season and are still looking for their first win in front of their home crowd with an 0-3 record. All three of their defeats have been by one goal with a double overtime loss to Cabrini and losses in regulation to Misericordia and Manhattanville.
• George Crampton is in his 20th season as head coach of the Bulldogs amassing a 203-159-30 career record.
• The Bulldogs have played a lot of close matches this season with six being decided by just a goal including two 1-0 losses last week. Their overall season stats show how close their matches have been as they have been outscored 22-21 and outshot 180-176. DSU has an advantage in shots on goal 79-76 and assists 16-14.
• Senior Michael Kirby ranks among the best in the conference with 17 points on five goals and seven assists. He is second in the MAC Freedom in points, third in assists, and tied for sixth in goals scored. He is also second with a .571 shot accuracy and leads the conference with 1.54 shots on goal per match.
• Senior Justin Habick has also scored five goals this year while adding one assist for 11 points. Three of his five goals have come on penalty kicks where he is 3-for-4 on the season.
• Senior Zach Reichard, junior Keegan Coffield, and sophomore Sean Tunney have all chipped in with two goals apiece for the Bulldogs offense.
• Sophomore TJ Corcoran has seen the most action in net for the Bulldogs but has not played since a 2-0 non-conference loss at William Paterson two weeks ago. This year he has recorded a 4-4-1 record with a 1.73 GAA and a .625 save percentage.
• Junior Jake McKinney and freshman Jake Padula have split time in place of Corcoran. McKinney got his first start of the year against the Devils on Saturday and has recorded a 2.03 GAA and .643 save percentage in 221:55 minutes of action. Padula has made three starts this year and recorded a 0.96 GAA and .900 save percentage in 186:54 minutes of work.

Up Next: It'll be Senior Night at McCarthy Stadium for the Monarchs on Saturday as they host Delaware Valley University at 7:30 p.m. in their final regular season home match of the year.