NOVEMBER 5, 2008

KING'S FIELD HOCKEY FALLS 1-0 IN FREEDOM SEMI-FINALS

KINGSTON -- The King's College field hockey team saw its quest for a third straight Freedom Conference title come to an end as the Lady Monarchs dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision to host Wilkes University Wednesday at Artillery Park.

With the loss, fourth-seeded King's ended its season with a 15-5 mark as the Lady Monarchs will not appear in the Freedom Conference championship game for the first time since 2004. King's was second in the 2005 conference tournament, then won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. Top-seeded Wilkes, ranked 18th nationally in Division III, improved to 17-2 and will host the conference final on Saturday against the winner of the other semi-final pairing between second-seeded Eastern and third-seeded Misericordia.

The teams played just four days earlier at Wilkes with the Lady Colonels eeking out a 4-3 overtime triumph over King's. While Wednesday's game lacked the offensive fireworks of Sunday's contest, it equaled the intensity.

After a scoreless first half, Wilkes would push across what proved to be the game winner with 24:42 left in the contest when Alyssa Koncelik scored off a crossing pass by Diane Wright. With both teams playing outstanding defense, King's was unable to capitalize on the few chances it had.

Wilkes held a slim 7-6 advantage in shots while also owning a 10-7 edge in penalty corners. King's goalie Erin McGinley and Wilkes keeper Lindsay Davenport made three saves each in the game.