WILKES-BARRE, PA (March 13, 2019) – The King's College men's lacrosse team will look to gain their first win of the season as they face off against Lebanon Valley College in a non-conference away match this Friday March 15 at 7:00 p.m. The Monarchs are coming off a 14-9 defeat to Western Connecticut State last Thursday.
 
Event Details:
Opponent: vs. Lebanon Valley College (1-4, 0-0)
Date: Friday, March 15, 2019
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Annville, PA – Arnold Sports Center and Heilman Center
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)
 
Last Time Out: King's College played well through the first 30 minutes once again, but the third quarter doomed the Monarchs as host Western Connecticut State University earned a 14-9 non-conference victory in action from the Western Athletic Complex Thursday afternoon.

The first quarter was a feeling out process for both teams, as neither could get much going in the form of offense. King's jumped out first as Jake Miller tallied his first of the season unassisted to push the Monarchs out in front. Almost exactly a minute later, WCSU (3-1) tallied to finish the scoring in the first period.

The second quarter saw the scoring ramp up, as the teams exchanged goals making the score 3-3 after a Gabe Vansuch goal with help from senior Omar Nijmah. WestConn tallied the next goal on a score from Ryan Reuling followed by a Donald Schaumloffel score to give the hosts a 5-3 edge. King's would get the last score of the second quarter though, as Michael O'Brien scored an unassisted tally to make it a 5-4 lead.

For the second straight game though, the Monarchs would have trouble coming out of halftime, as WCSU tallied five times in the third to take a 10-4 lead going into the fourth. King's got one back on an unassisted strike from Ryan Matusiewicz following a turnover. The Monarchs would add another goal as Trevor Douenias tallied his first of the year and second of his career to make it 11-6. That was as close as the comeback would get for King's, as WCSU pulled away late in the contest despite three late strikes from the Monarchs.

The Monarchs balanced the scoring around on the day, as O'Brien and Jared Gambino each tallied twice for the Monarchs, while Gambino posted a team-high six ground balls on the day. Defensively, Jacob Wrede had a strong contest, finishing with four caused turnovers along with five loose ball pick-ups.
Sophomore Chris Surina also posted three caused turnovers on the day.
 
A Look at the Monarchs (0-5, 0-0 MAC Freedom):

• The Monarchs are still searching for their first win, as they have scored a total of 33 goals which places them as eight in the conference.
• The Monarchs currently rank third in the conference for least amount of penalties.
• Sophomore Gabe Vansuch is currently 8th in the conference with 10 goals on the year. He leads the team with 11 points on the season.
• The Monarchs have had a balanced attack this year, with 11 players scoring goals. That ranks second in the conference in number of players with tallies.
• Defender Jacob Wrede has been consistent and solid all season for the Monarchs, as he has posted at least one caused turnover in four of the five games this year. He chalked up four caused giveaways last Wednesday, a season-high for King's.
• Senior goalie Matt Basile is currently leading the conference with 15.40 saves per game. He has the most saves with 77 in the conference as well.
• Sophomore Trevor Douenias leads the team with 16 ground balls as well as faceoff victories with 38 wins.
• Despite still looking for their first win of the season, King's is trending in the right direction. The Monarchs have been solid in the second quarter, but an 8-0 deficit in the third quarter has hurt the last two games.
• Jared Gambino has posted seven goals and two assists this year for King's, while Brian Steiger has supplemented the offense with three goals and three assists.

 
A Look at the Dutchmen (1-4, 0-0 MAC Commonwealth):

• Lebanon Valley currently is fourth in the MAC Commonwealth with a .267 shot percentage on the year.
• Lebanon Valley ranks third in the conference with a total of 166 ground balls.
• Senior Matt Torrence is currently ninth in the conference with 11 goals on the season. He is second on the team with 13 points for the year.
• Torrance isn't only doing it on the offensive end, as he leads the team in caused turnovers with 11 and 25 ground balls.
• Senior Kevin Beaver is currently ranked fourth in the conference with 11.75 shots per game. He leads the team with 16 total points on the year.
• Senior Cam Epple leads the conference with 17.00 saves per game and paces the MAC Commonwealth with 85 saves on the year.
• Josh Croyle has scored eight goals as well for the Dutchmen, while Joe Olives has finished seven shots while ranking third on the team in points with 11.

Against Lebanon Valley: The Monarchs are 2-3 in their last five meetings with the Dutchmen. King's took the last meeting in 2018 by a wide margin of an 11-3 victory.  However, the Dutchmen won the two previous matchups.
 
Up Next: The Monarchs will be home at McCarthy Stadium during the week on Wednesday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m. to take on the Pacers of Marywood University.