WILKES-BARRE, PA (August 30, 2018) – The King's College field hockey team will look to return to the postseason and claim the program's second conference title in three years when the season gets underway on Friday.

The Monarchs are looking to rebound from a tough end to the 2017 season when they lost the final three games of the season by a goal each to miss qualifying for the conference tournament. This year's squad is ready to put that behind them and make sure that they are back in the postseason once November comes around. Nearly half of the current roster experienced the high of winning the conference title in 2016 and knows what it takes to get back there and qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

King's returns a strong team that is battle-tested after a lot of one-goal and overtime games last year. Six of the seven conference games last year were decided by just a goal and three of those games needed overtime to find a winner. In total the Monarchs played nine games that were decided by just a goal and they were on the winning side of four of those games.

While King's have a lot of players back, they also lost a lot of scoring. The Monarchs lost five of their seven top scorers due to graduation. Many different student-athletes will be looked upon to replace those goals and assists.

Forwards
The Monarchs return 2017 All-MAC Freedom First Team selection Kelsey Gabriele who led the team and was second in the conference with 13 goals. The senior captain added five assists for 31 points and had four game-winning goals. She will look to continue her scoring onslaught in 2018. Gabriele has scored 30 goals and added 15 assists in her career for 75 points.

Classmate Kelley O'Keefe is also back for the Monarchs and she will look to have an impact after scoring three goals and adding an assist last year in 18 games including nine starts. The Nonnewaug graduate will look to replace some of the scoring for the Monarchs. Another senior King's will rely on for her experience is Rachel Zultevicz. The Shickshinny native played in all 18 games last year and recorded an assist. Like O'Keefe she will be expected to help fuel the offense the 2018. Zultevicz began her career as a midfielder and moved to forward last year to become more involved with the offense.

Sophomores Danielle Runo and Bailey DeLellis will also look for an expanded role in the offense after both saw action in nearly every game in their rookie campaigns. Runo played in 17 games and recorded one assist while DeLellis played in 16 games.

The Monarchs will also look for contributions from newcomers Bailey Jordan, Jolee Treslar, and Mary Wynkoop. Jordan comes to King's after leading Pittston Area in scoring. Treslar is also a local product having played at Dallas while Wynkoop is from Bethlehem and graduated from Liberty High School.

Midfielders
The midfield will be led by senior captain Natalie Muscatell. The South Hunterdon graduate will patrol the defensive side of the midfield turning the Monarch defense into offense. She has had success in her career at stopping the opponent's offense before getting into the circle. Last year she had one assist in 15 games including three starts. Fellow senior Connie Mangino also brings back valuable experience to the midfield playing in 17 games last season and recording one assist. Like Muscatell, Mangino is expected to play a big role in getting the ball into the offensive side of the field after a stop on defense.

Maryrose Mauro started all 16 games she appeared in last year and led the Monarch midfielders with one goal and two assists. The junior is expected to help the offense keep the ball on the attacking half of the field. Freshman Hannah Robbins will look to earn time on the field. Robbins comes to King's after playing four years for the Patriots of nearby Pittston Area High School.

Defense
Senior captain Taylor Runo will anchor a Monarch defense that has traditionally been very good. The Tamiment native excels in stopping attackers from getting shots off and can clear the ball out of the danger. Juniors Jennifer Smalley and Xzyla Russell will aide Runo on the defensive end with their two years of experience each.

Smalley saw action in 13 games last year including four starts while Russell played in seven games. Senior Katy Higinbothom is back on the team after not playing as a junior. The Bel Air, Maryland native appeared in five games as a sophomore on a team that won the MAC Freedom Championship and fell 2-1 at eighth-ranked Franklin & Marshall College in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Monarchs brought in three freshmen who will compete for time on the defensive end. Alexis Prowker comes to King's after a successful career at Palisades High School, Annie Ryan was an All-Conference and All-County player for Hillsborough High School in New Jersey, and Angie Wygonowski comes from a very good Wallkill Valley program in New Jersey that won the Conference and State Sectional Championships last year. Wygonowski contributed to the success as a First Team All-Conference defender.

In cage the Monarchs will rely on sophomore Brianne Maluda and freshman Dervla Mcerlean as their last line of defense. Maluda saw action as the backup in five games last year including one start, a 5-2 victory over Keuka College. The East Stroudsburg native allowed just two goals in 129 minutes of action while making nine saves and facing 15 shots. Mcerlean is from Ireland and will will look to get some time in cage this year.

The Schedule
King's will face a tough non-conference schedule to get them ready for when conference play begins on September 21. The team will open the season on with three straight road contest staring on Friday afternoon at Elmira College. They will then have a tough stretch of games against Gwynedd Mercy, Susquehanna, Muhlenberg, and Scranton. The rest of the non-conference slate features Immaculata, Keystone, Lebanon Valley, Division II St. Thomas Acquinas, Marywood, Alvernia, and Keuka.