WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 22, 2019) – The King's College men's lacrosse team will look to shake off a pair of season-opening losses last weekend, returning to McCarthy Stadium Saturday for a contest against Susquehanna University at 1 p.m. The Monarchs dropped a 16-6 decision to the University of Scranton last Sunday, despite senior goalkeeper Matt Basile making 25 stops in net for King's.

Event Details
Opponent: vs. Susquehanna University (1-0, 0-0 Landmark)
Date: Saturday, February 23, 2019
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA – McCarthy Stadium (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Last Time Out: The King's College men's lacrosse team played its second game in as many days on Sunday afternoon, but a big fourth quarter run for host University of Scranton proved too much as the Monarchs fell to the Royals 16-6 in non-conference from Weiss Field. Senior goalkeeper Matt Basile made a career-high 25 saves on the day, the second straight day he's set a career-high in stops.

The two teams traded goals over the first 10 minutes of the game, as Tim Dolan started the scoring for the Royals followed by a tally by junior Jared Gambino unassisted with 4:39 left in the frame. Scranton would score the next six goals of the game before sophomore Gabe Vansuch tallied a man-up strike with help from Gambino to make it a 7-2 game going into the break.

The game was still within striking distance for the Monarchs thanks to the play of Basile, who posted 13 saves in the first half. After the halftime intermission, Scranton scored two goals to make it 9-2 but King's answered with two of their own from Gambino and Jack Camp to pull to within five again ag 9-4.

Scranton scored nearly 90 seconds later to up its edge back up to six at 10-4 after a Quinn Killeen goal, but Vansuch scored his second goal with the man advantage just before the end of the third to make it a five-goal game going into the fourth quarter off an assist from Brian Steiger.

The fourth quarter would see the hosts pull away though, notching five straight goals before Alec Martin scored his first of the season with 5:12 to go in the game. That would end the scoring for the Monarchs though, as the Royals tallied once more to secure the win.

The Royals finished with a 61-25 shot edge on the game, mostly because of having more possessions thanks to winning 21 of the 26 face-offs on the night. King's got two goals and an assist each from both Vansuch and Gambino, while Camp posted a team-high six shots,
In addition to his 25 stops in cage, Basile totaled a team-high seven ground balls as well. Freshman Aaron Olsovsky led the way with two caused turnovers and two ground balls, and Sam Moyer and Tanner Hale each finished with three ground balls and a caused turnover.

A Look at the Monarchs (0-2, 0-0 MAC Freedom):

• The Monarchs will look to get the attack going this week, as KC had 30 shots per game last weekend but put only 14 per game on cage. King's shooting percentage of .164 is sixth in the league.
• King's totaled two man-up goals last weekend in 12 attempts, as the 12 chances with the EMO are the most of any time in the MAC Freedom thus far.
• The Monarchs currently ranked fourth in the MAC Freedom in goals allowed per game.
• Senior netminder Matt Basile has been very strong thus far in cage, leading the conference in saves per game with 23. That's more than five more saves on average than Matt Barry of DeSales.
• Basile is third in the conference in save percentage at 59.7 percent, right behind Carter Whittemore of Wilkes.
• Sophomore Gabe Vansuch is currently ninth in the MAC Freedom in goals per game with 2.0 a contest.
• Jared Gambino leads the Monarchs in assists with two through the first two games.
• Freshman Aaron Olsovsky is currently 12^th in the conference in caused turnovers with 1.50 a game, which leads the team.

A Look At The River Hawks (1-0, 0-0 Landmark):

• Susquehanna is coming off a thrilling, season-opening win over Lycoming last weekend as the River Hawks scored the final three goals in a 9-8 road win.
• Kyle Watts is the go-to scorer for the River Hawks thus far, scoring three goals in the opening game.
• Sophomore Colton Dick returns to the fray after posting a team-high 24 assists in 2018, adding 20 goals as well for the River Hawks. He was also tabbed as the Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year last year.
• Senior goalkeeper Dylan Abplanalp was a First Team All-Landmark pick as a junior, as he set school records last year in career saves and career wins.
• The defense is led by senior Travis Yaga, who was an All-Landmark First Team honoree last year, causing a team-high 22 turnovers in 2018.
• Senior James Abramo had a great game against Lycoming, posting a game-best five caused turnovers in that contest.
• Dan Murphy led the way with six ground balls and three caused turnovers in the team's lone game.
• SU did struggle at the face-off dot in the opener, winning just four of 20 draws in the victory over Lycoming.

Against Susquehanna: The Monarchs are 2-8 over their last 10 against the River Hawks, as King's won back-to-back games in 2013 and 2014. Since then, Susquehanna has won the last four meetings including a 17-6 victory in Selinsgrove, PA last year. Before that game though, the previous five games had been decided by an average of just over three goals.

Up Next: King's hosts Lycoming College next Saturday, March 2 at 1 p.m. in McCarthy Stadium to begin the nine-day Spring Break session.