SCRANTON, Pa. – The Allegheny men's soccer team was defeated 3-1 by the University of Scranton in the finale of the Royal Monarch Challenge.

The Gators (1-1) return to the western side of the state having split two matches at the season-opening tourney, having shut out King's College 2-0 on Friday evening.

Host Scranton couldn't have gotten off to a better start, as Connor Casey scored after a long run just 15 seconds into the first half to take a 1-0 lead.

The Gators regrouped, and play would quickly even out in a defensively-themed remainder of the first half.  After the Royals' early goal, neither team tallied a shot for over 33 minutes, while the Gators had the lone corner kick over the span. 

After a sustained possession with just over 11 minutes left in the half, the Gators connected on their first scoring chance of the afternoon.  Bryce Evans blasted a shot that was blocked in front, but teammate Tolossa Hassan gathered the rebound and sent it into the back of the next for his first goal of the season, tying the match at 1-all.

The Gators were unable to keep the momentum, however, as just two minutes after Hassan's strike, the Royals were awarded a penalty kick, and Kyle Robbins converted on the chance to re-gain a 2-1 lead.

Following the Robbins' PK, the Royals upped the offensive pressure, earning three corner kicks in the final four minutes of the half, but Allegheny withstood the threats to keep the deficit at one heading into the intermission.

Scranton came out strong after the break, racking five shots and taking four corner kicks over the first 15 minutes of the second stanza. The Gators were able to keep it a one-goal game, as three shots went wide, one was blocked, and one was saved by keeper David Stekla.
 
With 17 minutes to go, Hassan had another solid chance, but was saved by Blake Hammert, and on the ensuing possession, the Royals' Kieran Bracken scored an insurance marker with a header off of a long entry pass to make the score 3-1. 

In the 82nd minute, Evans had the Gators' final scoring chance of the day, but was turned aside by Hammert, preserving Scranton's two-goal win.

After holding just a 3-2 edge in shots after the first half, the Royals out-shot the Gators 9-2 in the second frame to own a 12-4 advantage for the game.  The Royals were also awarded 10 corner kicks to Allegheny's two.

Evans and Hassan each had two shots for Allegheny, while Stekla made three saves but was saddled with the loss in goal.

The Gators will now have a six-day layoff before returning to action on Friday, Sept. 8, when they travel to north-central Pennsylvania to take on Pitt-Bradford at 4 p.m.