WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 19, 2019) --- Aidan Oyler scored his second goal in as many matches this week to give the King's College men's soccer team an early lead but the visiting Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology received a pair of goals by Cristiano Hocken to defeat the Monarchs 2-1 in a thrilling Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) contest at McCarthy Stadium in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday evening.

The battle between teams that entered the season expecting to be playing for a MAC Freedom Championship in a couple weeks lived up to the hype with an exciting 90 minutes of soccer. In the opening minute Alastair Dinnan broke loose down the left side and had just the goalkeeper to beat. Aedan Boriotti came out of net to challenge Dinnan and ran into the senior forward on a touch that snuck a little away from Dinnan with the ball going over the goal line for a goal kick much to the dismay of the Monarch faithful who wanted a foul in the box on the SIT keeper. The Monarchs got the ball right back from the Duck and drove right back to the goal line with Matthew Hesse sending in a beautiful cross from the right side. Oyler headed the cross into the back of the net giving KC the lead in the second minute. The goal was Oyler's third of the year while Hesse recorded his second assist of the year.

King's held their lead for nine minutes as the teams battled in the midfield before Stevens evened the score with Hocken first goal of the match. The junior forward one-timed a cross into the lower right in the middle of the box with Bailey Gano earning the assist on the pass. King's went to work looking to retake the lead as Fabio Massa nearly scored his second goal of the week following a free kick in the 13th minute. Boriotti denied the attempt by the forward with a save to the lower right. In the 18th minute Boriotti was needed again as August Axtman sent a header off a long throw in from the left side towards the right post. Following the save, the Ducks passed the ball downfield to the star forward Hocken who got the ball at his feet off a Monarch defender's deflection of a pass. Hocken beat the defender on the right side of the box and then unleashed a rocket to the lower right to give the visitors a 2-1 lead late in the 18th minute.

The Monarchs fought valiantly for the remaining 72 minutes to find the equalizer but were denied at each opportunity by Boriotti. A majority of the match was played in the midfield as the teams with the two least goals allowed in the conference battled it out. Axtman had great opportunities in the 51st and 61st minutes to score on a pair of set pieces but each time Boriotti managed to knock the ball away. Both teams finished with eight shots as King's put five on goal compared to two for the Ducks. The Monarchs held a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks taken and held possession for 55 percent of the match. Connor McKeown played very well in net making one save while also making a lot of plays on thru balls the Ducks attempted to play up the middle of the pitch.

KC will be back in action with two matches against local teams this week as the squad looks to clinch a berth in the MAC Freedom Championships. The Monarchs can lock up their bid with two wins this week against Wilkes and Misericordia. King's will first face the Colonels on Tuesday evening in Edwardsville on Wilkes' brand new Bruggeworth Field in the Ralston Athletic Complex at 7 pm. The squad will then honor their senior in the final regular season home match on Saturday when they welcome Misericordia to McCarthy Stadium for a 4 pm kickoff.