FEBRUARY 23, 2018

KING'S MEN'S LACROSSE TEAM TO OPEN SEASON SATURDAY

WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College men's lacrosse team will kickoff the 2018 campaign on Saturday when the Monarchs travel to Selinsgrove to face Susquehanna University in a 2:00 PM matchup.

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Head coach Andy Orlowski enters his 16th year as the Monarch mentor and looks for the team to improve on a 5-10 season in 2017 in which King's went 2-5 in MAC Freedom Conference play and missed the league tournament for the second straight year after a four-year run from 2012-15.The Monarchs return 22 players, including five seniors from last season who are looking to make their final year a successful one. Eleven juniors and six sophomores also dot the roster while 11 freshman are hoping to make an impact.
 

Leading the list of veterans in  senior attack Brock Johnson who led the team in scoring with 48 points on 25 goals, 23 assists, and 21 ground balls. Johnson has totaled 133 points in his career on 86 goals and 46 assists and is a two-time All-Freedom Conference selection. Johnson is nine goals away from breaking King's career goal-scoring record while also standing 11 points shy of becoming the Monarchs' career scoring leader.

Also back is junior attack Brian Steiger who was second on the team last season with 36 points on 23 goals and 13 assists. Junior attack Brett O'Neill was tied for second on the squad in scoring with 36 points on 19 goals and 17 assists.

Senior midfielder Shawn Dickey, a returning All-Freedom selection, was fourth on the squad with 28 points on 22 goals and six assists while ranking third with 41 ground balls.  Junior midfielder Ryan Matusiewicz seventh on the team in scoring with nine points on six goals and three assists with 45 ground balls.
 

ne player who Orlowski is expecting big things from is senior Nick Foley in the all-important face-off specialist position.  Foley owns virtually every face-off record at King's with a full season to go and is a three-time All-Freedom Conference selection.  Foley has won 442 faceoffs in three years and owns three of the top-four single-season marks for face-offs won in one year. In addition, Foley has 186 career ground balls.

Other returning midfielders include junior Nick Maher, junior Omar Nijmeh, sophomore Ryan Lalli, junior junior Holden Schooley, and senior Matt Rerig.Defensively, junior Tanner Hale started 14 games last season. Other returning defenders include Tom Bernicker, Mike McDougal, Jacob Wrede, and Seamus Boyle.
 

In goal, junior Matt Basile played in 12 games and made nine starts, posting a 9.67 goals against average with 108 saves. In goal Cody Prindle is also looking for an increased role after playing in two games last season where he allowed one goal in 15 total minutes.

Freshmen looking to make an impact at attack include Charlie Alessi and Gabe Vansuch.  Newcomers in the midfield include Michael O'Brien, Trevor Douenias, Ethan Kates, Duncan Breig, and Alec Martin.  Freshmen defenders include Vincent Mascari, Chris Surina, Patrick Burnham, and Justin Sandstrom.

The Monarchs will play a 15-game regular-season, including the final seven against MAC Freedom Conference opponents. King's will make its home debut on March 7 at 4:00 PM against the University of Scranton.