MADISON, NJ (October 24, 2023) -- Eric Siciliano had a career outing in net for the Monarchs while Liam Yair delivered his second goal of the season, but a battle in Madison, N.J. resulted in a draw as the King's College men's soccer team posted a 1-1 final against FDU-Florham in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play on Tuesday night. With the tie, the Monarchs now stand at 5-8-2 overall and 1-3-2 in the conference standings, while the Devils post an 8-2-6 record and are 0-2-4 in the MAC Freedom.
 
The opening half was closely contested as both teams had their share of opportunities to put a score on the board early. FDU-Florham (8-2-6, 0-2-4 MAC Freedom) was awarded a penalty kick in the 21^st minute off a Monarch foul, but Siciliano made a great save on a hard shot right in the middle of the net before securing the rebound to preserve the scoreless contest. King's (5-8-2, 1-3-2 MAC Freedom) had three opportunities over the final minutes of the half, including a look from Buck Diacont that was saved by the Devils keeper and an attempt off the crossbar from Cameron Jones as the game remained knotted at 0-0 at the break.
 
It did not take long for the Monarchs to shift the momentum in the second half as Shane Serio took off on a breakaway and was fouled just inside the box to set up a free kick opportunity for King's. Yair stepped up and had his first attempt thwarted by the Devils keeper, but Yair charged the rebound and sent the ball into the left side of the goal to put the Monarchs ahead 1-0 just 24 seconds into the half.
 
Siciliano came up with another big stop again with just over 17 minutes remaining as the Devils sent a great ball into the box, but Siciliano punched the ball over the top of the goal as King's maintained their 1-0 edge. The Monarchs continued to pester the Devils goal to add an insurance tally, but each attempt fell short. FDU-Florham made one final push as they earned a corner kick with 3:42 to go, but the ball sailed out of bounds last touched by a Monarch. The Devils saw one more chance to post their equalizer off their next corner, and the entry attempt went off a Devil and edged itself into the net as the game was tied, 1-1, with 3:03 to play.
 
Jones and Yair both placed beautiful balls on frame, the first by Jones with 1:33 remaining then Yair's attempt with 13 seconds left, but the Devils defense remained steady as the MAC Freedom game ended in a 1-1 tie in Madison on Tuesday night.
 
Yair scored the lone goal in the draw for the Monarchs on a team-high six shots with three on goal, while Philip Permyashkin tallied four attempts and both Serio and Jones added three a piece. Siciliano had a strong outing in the net, recording a new career-best seven saves.
 
Ryan Maguire posted the goal for the Devils on an assist from Oliver Trujillo, while Diego Trujillo led FDU-Florham with five shots and three on target. Goalkeeper Anthony Petrucci matched Siciliano's seven-save effort in the contest.
 
The shot column reflected the game as each team fired off 19 attempts, with King's holding the 9-8 edge in shots on frame.
 
King's will play their final regular season contest of the 2023 slate in front of their home crowd at McCarthy Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Monarchs are set to host DeSales University at 3:30 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.