ONEONTA, NY (September 4, 2025) – The King's College men's soccer team came up just short in a hard-fought battle against SUNY Oneonta on Saturday afternoon, falling 1-0 at Red Dragon Field in the opening match of the 2025 Mayor's Cup Tournament. The Monarchs now sit at 2-1-0 on the season, while the Red Dragons improve to 2-0-1.

Oneonta came out aggressively, putting early pressure on the Monarchs' defense. Sophomore goalkeeper Ben Van Valkenburg was a standout in net for King's, making eight saves in the match, including key stops in the 9th, 11th, and 39th minutes to keep the match level through the first half.

King's created several chances of their own, highlighted by a shot on goal from Jonathan Huntley in the 23rd minute that was turned away by Oneonta goalkeeper James Cintron. Additional first-half attempts came from Evan Egnatovich and Philip Permyashkin, though the Monarchs were unable to break through before the break.

The decisive moment came in the 58th minute, when Oneonta's Nico Loaiza found space between Monarch defenders and placed a shot just past the outstretched arms of a diving Van Valkenburg, putting the Red Dragons ahead 1-0.

King's continued to battle in search of an equalizer, with late efforts from William Zelaya, Brayden Lane, and Permyashkin threatening the Oneonta back line. The Monarchs best chance came at the 83:25 mark where Lane sent a shot from just outside the box toward the bottom right corner, forcing a diving stop from the Oneonta keeper to maintain their lead.

The match featured 17 fouls and one yellow card, issued to Oneonta's Luigi Prosperi in the first half.

Permyashkin and Zelaya led the Monarchs in shots with two while Lane and Huntley took the lone shots on goal for King's in the matchup.

King's will look to bounce back on Sunday, September 7 at 3:30 PM, when they take on Hartwick College in the second match of the Mayor's Cup Tournament.