WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 22, 2025) — The King's College men's soccer team dropped a tightly contested MAC Freedom matchup on Wednesday night, 1–0, to Misericordia University. An 89th-minute penalty kick proved decisive as the Cougars secured the win. With the result, the Monarchs move to 2–9–5 overall and 0–2–2 in conference play, while Misericordia improves to 7–5–3 overall and 2–1–1 in the MAC Freedom.

The Monarchs created early attacking momentum, firing seven first-half shots and controlling much of the possession. Philip Permyashkin had a pair of quality looks, including a low drive in the 11th minute that forced a save from Misericordia goalkeeper Santino Jannotte.

Monarch goalkeeper Ben Van Valkenburg kept the match level with a diving stop in the 27th minute on a headed cross, helping send the teams into halftime scoreless.

King's continued to push forward after the break, outshooting the Cougars 14–6 in the second half. Christian Rua tested Jannotte just 56 seconds into the half, while Sam Leckner and Nick Tighe each came close during a strong offensive output midway through the second.

The Monarchs' best chance came in the 56th minute when a header from James Leonard on a Cameron Jones set piece rattled off the left post and was cleared away by the Cougar defense.
Despite constant pressure late in the game, the Monarchs couldn't find a breakthrough, and the Cougars capitalized late. In the 89th minute, a foul inside the box led to a Misericordia penalty kick, which Max Jamieson converted to put the visitors ahead 1–0.

King's pressed forward in the closing seconds but was unable to equalize before the final whistle.

As a team, the Monarchs outshot the Cougars 21–10, including a 5–3 advantage in shots on goal, and held a 7–4 edge in corner kicks.

Permyashkin led the Monarchs with six shots, including two on goal, while Rua added four attempts. Anthony Ramirez and Tighe took the other shots on goal for King's. Van Valkenburg finished the night with two saves in goal for King's.

King's men's soccer returns to McCarthy Stadium on Saturday, October 25, to host DeSales University in a MAC Freedom matchup with kickoff set for 7:00 PM.