WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 18, 2023) -- After trailing 2-0 at the half, the King's College Monarchs nearly pulled off an epic second half comeback against Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) foe Stevens. Goals by Liam Yair and Philip Permyashkin evened the game in the second half, but a late goal by the Ducks saw Stevens top King's 3-2.

Stevens (7-2-4, 3-0-1) went up 1-0 in the fourth minute as a cross by the Ducks bounced off a Monarch defender into the goal. Stevens scored again in the 25^th minute off the foot of Emerico Vespucci to put the ducks up 2-0. The remainder of the first half saw a lot of physical play from both sides and multiple yellow cards handed to King's.

Going into the second half the Monarchs (5-7-1, 1-2-1) trailed 2-0 and had a long uphill battle on their hands. The Monarchs got to work quickly as Bryce Nunes was able to draw a foul inside the box and force a penalty kick in the 53^rd minute. Yair was the Monarch to take the penalty, finding the back of the net to cut King's deficit to just one goal.

In the 67^th minute Permyashkin took a shot from way down the field and put it past the diving goalkeeper to even the score at 2-2. The Monarchs momentum continued to build, and the squad battled tooth and nail against a Ducks team that played in a national semi-final game last fall.

The final minutes saw both squads battle back and forth in a very physical match that saw players giving it everything they had to try to score a go-ahead goal late in the game. Unfortunately, it was the Ducks who netted the final goal with just over 30 seconds left in the game.

Despite their triumphant comeback efforts, the Monarchs fell to Stevens 3-2. King's was paced by Permyashkin who notched one goal on four shots. Yair scored on his lone shot of the game. Nunes, Trevor Jones, and Buck Diacont also had shot attempts for the Monarchs. Jake Forst had five saves in net.

Vespucci and Luca Campbell scored for Stevens, and Bruno Andino recorded an assist. Fritz Kabeiseman led the Ducks in shots with four, placing two on frame. Justin Cross had four saves for the Ducks.

The Monarchs will return to play Saturday, October 21 as they take on MAC Freedom opponent Lebanon Valley College on the road at 4 p.m.