DANBURY, CT (March 7, 2019) – 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 (0-5) jumped out first at the 4:58 mark of the opening stanza 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.

Both teams turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter, while King's edge the Colonials in ground balls, 8-6. 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 with 3:14 to go in the period on a score from Ryan Reuling followed by a Donald Schaumloffel score 48 seconds later 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 with 24 seconds to go in the half to make it a 5-4 lead.

King's outshot their hosts 15-9 in the second quarter, but the WCSU goalkeeper made five shots. Both teams were 5-of-6 on clear attempts in the stanza, while King's forced Western Connecticut State into eight turnovers.

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 with 12:31 to go on an unassisted strike from Ryan Matusiewicz following a turnover. The Monarchs had another chance on the next possession, but Perry Cassidy made a save for the Colonials and the subsequent fast break ended in a goal for WCSU to make the score 11-5.

The Monarchs would add another goal nine minutes into the frame 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. Five other players scored once for King's, while nine total Monarchs had at least one point. 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, while Matusiewicz also finished with four ground balls. Junior Ryan Lalli finished 5-of-11 on face-offs, and junior Sean Morrissey also earned a win on two face-off attempts. Senior goalkeeper Matt Basile stopped eight shots Thursday.

King's outshot their opponents on the day 41-32, and caused three more turnovers (31-28) while finishing a strong 21-of-25 on clears. Schaumloffel and Reuling each scored three times for the Colonials, while Eric Caldwell and Christian Sparacino also both tallied twice for the hosts. Cassidy stopped 12 shots for WCSU, and Ryan Yursha was 16-of-23 on face-offs.
 
The Monarchs return to action next Friday, March 15 to take on the Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley College at 7 p.m. in Annville, PA.