WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 5, 2018) – The King's College women's soccer team will face a tough test on Saturday as they jump back in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom play at nationally-ranked Misericordia University. The Monarchs and Cougars will kickoff at 5 p.m. on Mangelsdorf Field.
 
Event Details
Opponent: at #14 Misericordia University (7-2-1, 1-0-0 MAC Freedom)
Date: Saturday, October 6
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Dallas, PA – Mangelsdorf Field (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
Last Time Out: The Monarchs were on the wrong end of a three-goal second half as King's dropped a 3-0 decision to Stockton University on Wednesday. After a pretty even first half of the play, the Ospreys outshot the Monarchs 9-2 in the second half scoring in the 47th, 59th, and 73rd minutes.
 
The Book On The Monarchs (4-5-0, 1-0-0 MAC Freedom):

• The Monarchs are looking to start 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 1996 season. The last time King's won their first conference match of the year was 2013 with a 3-1 victory at FDU-Florham. KC ended that year with the program's first ever conference tournament appearance and advanced to take on Misericordia in the Freedom Conference Championship. King's will be looking for their first victory on the road this season after falling in overtime in their previous two road matches.
• King's is battle-tested heading into their toughest stretch of the year. The Monarchs have played the second hardest schedule in the MAC Freedom behind the Cougars and their opponent winning percentage of .629 is ranked 41st in the nation. That number will only go up after Saturday.
• All but two of King's matches have been decided by one goal this year. Three of the Monarchs four losses have been in overtime.
• Tara Bender has emerged as King's top keeper this season and was named the MAC Freedom Defensive Player of the Week this week after shutting down the high-scoring offense of FDU-Florham last Saturday with a career-high nine saves. Overall, her 1.53 goals against average is ranked fifth in the conference and she has a .765 save percentage. The freshman has recorded a 4-4 record in 704:05 minutes of action. Her 4.88 saves per match is fourth in the conference.
• Junior Danielle Putnam leads the Monarchs and is tied for ninth in the conference with six points on two goals and two assists. Both of her goals were game-winning goals which is the second-most in the MAC Freedom.
• Three sophomores have been very helpful for the Monarchs this season. Emily Harrington has two goals and an assist this season. Emma Baumbusch and Stephanie Corea are tied for fourth in the conference with two assists each.
• Freshman defender Kara Keim and junior Sophia Sacknievich have provided offensive sparks with two goals each this season. Sacknievich scored both of her goals in the first two matches of the year while Keim was named the MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Week last week after scoring both of King's goals in a 1-1 week.
• King's has scored nine goals on 80 shots including 38 shots on goal. They have allowed 13 goals on 89 shots including 55 on goal.
• The Monarchs have done a great job at producing corner kicks this year as KC is third in the conference with 5.00 per match and have taken 45 total kicks. The Monarchs have allowed their opponents to take just 31 corners kicks. King's has been the best in the MAC Freedom this year in not committing offsides with just four in eight matches.

The Book On The Cougars (7-2-1, 1-0-0 MAC Freedom):

• Misericordia enters Saturday's match ranked 14th in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and 22nd in the D3soccer.com Poll. The Cougars are 7-2-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference following a 5-0 shutout at Brockport on Tuesday. MU has scored five goals in two straight road matches.
• The Cougars are playing at home for the first time since September 19th when they rallied to upset then-ranked #5 William Smith 2-1. The Cougars then dropped a tough 1-0 decision at defending National Champion Messiah on a goal in 80th minute. MU is 4-0-1 on Mangelsdorf Field this season.
• King's and Misericordia have two common opponents so far this season as the Cougars took down Susquehanna 2-0 and Lebanon Valley 1-0. The Cougars have played the 12th toughest schedule in the nation so far with an opponent winning percentage of .670.
• Mark Stauffer has led the Cougars to five MAC Freedom Championships including earning the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament the past two season. The Monarchs have never beaten a Stauffer-led team. King's came close in 2007 when they played the Cougars to a scoreless draw at McCarthy Stadium when Misericordia was playing their last season in the PAC.
• The Monarchs will look to shut down another high-scoring offense for the second consecutive conference match as Misericordia is scoring 1.90 goals per match. MU is ranked second in the conference in every nearly every offensive category.
• Junior Jeanna Orfanos leads the team and is fifth in the MAC Freedom with eight points on three goals and two assists. She scored twice against DeSales last Saturday. Freshman Kendall Pearage has scored three goals this season while leading the team with 25 shots taken. All three of her goals were game-winners.
• Junior Jordyn Martini, senior Kristen Ritter, freshman Michaela Fasolino, and senior Ashley Edgell have all scored two goals this season for MU.
• Sophomore Alexis Benedetto has recorded four shutouts in goal this year while leading the conference with a 0.57 GAA. Her save percentage of .818 is ranked third in the conference while playing the third most minutes.
• Misericordia is 21-3-1 all-time against the Monarchs including a 10-2 record when playing in Dallas. This is the fourth time the teams have met when the Cougars have been ranked. King's fell to #25 Misericordia 2-0 at McCarthy Stadium last year and the 14th-ranked Cougars 2-1 in double overtime in 2015. King's has not beaten the Cougars since a 2-1 victory in 1995. King's won three of the first four meetings between the programs.

Up Next: The Monarchs will face another local rival on Wednesday when they host Wilkes University at 7 p.m. in McCarthy Stadium.