WILKES-BARRE, PA (April 30, 2019) – For the fifth consecutive season and the third time under the direction of head coach Ashley Stevens, the King's College women's lacrosse team will compete in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) Tournament. The Monarchs will travel to No. 1 seed Misericordia University Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in Dallas, PA, while FDU-Florham will host DeSales University on the other semifinal Wednesday.

Event Details
Opponent: at Misericordia University (12-5, 7-0 MAC Freedom)
Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Dallas, PA – Mangelsdorf Field (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Video) (Live Stats)

Last Time Out: Sophomore goalkeeper Orla Cottell set the King's College women's lacrosse single-season record for saves Saturday, finishing the regular season with 192 but King's dropped the 2019 season finale to Manhattanville College 17-11 in play from GoValiants.com Field in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom action.

King's fell behind early 2-0, but battled back with a three-goal run to take its first lead of the day at 4-3 after freshman Jen O'Connor tallied on a free position shot with 10:42 to go in regulation.

Manhattanville responded with back-to-back goals to regain the lead at 5-4, but freshman Emily Sims tallied her second of the half with 2:23 remaining in the first half to tie the game at five. The Valiants' Melissa O'Mara though would net a goal with 1:32 to play in the first period to send the game to halftime with the hosts up 6-5.

Cottell's record-breaking save came during the first period, as she denied a shot from O'Mara with 16:44 to go for her 179 stop of the season. Both teams took 16 shots in the first half, as the two teams also split the 12 draw controls.

The second half would see the momentum slide to the side of the home team, as Manhattanville won 15 of the 18 draw controls in the stanza. The Valiants led by as many as eight in the second half, before King's tried to rally with three goals to make it 16-11 with a litte over three minutes to play. That would be as close as the Monarchs would get, as the hosts earned the upset win.

Sims finished with a career-high four goals, adding three ground balls, a caused turnover and one draw control. Fellow freshman Jen O'Connor posted two goals and an assist to finish the regular season with 50 goals and 77 points. She also posted three ground balls, two caused turnovers and two draw controls.

Junior Kelly Pierce posted her first two-goal game of the season, adding four ground balls, two caused turnovers and three draw wins, while Bailey Jordan finished with a goal and an assist. Sophomores Mary Kate Klodarska and Emma Lehman each posted a goal, and senior Katy Higinbothom added an assist.

Junior defender Mia Dardanelli finished with four ground balls and three caused turnovers, a team-high while fellow junior Jennifer Smalley scooped three loose balls as well. King's was outshot on the day 37-33, but did score on two of its three free position shots.

A Look At The Monarchs (6-12, 3-4 MAC Freedom):

• The Monarchs finished the conference slate 3-4, tied with Eastern University for fourth place, but won the tie-breaker thanks to their 18-5 win over the Eagles.
• Freshman Jen O'Connor continues to accomplish a ton of firsts, including posting 27 assists this year as a newcomer. That's the most helpers by a freshman in program history.
• The 77 points that O'Connor currently has is the most by a first-year player, eclipsing the 69 that Anastasia Araviakis posted back in 2015.
• The Monarchs saw sophomore Orla Cottell break the single season record for saves in a season last time out, as she currently sits with 192 for the season.
• This season, King's has dished out 78 assists on its 188 goals, as the 78 helpers as a squad ranks fifth in program history.
• King's has posted 227 draw controls on the season, which ranks third all-time on the season rankings for the Monarchs.
• Junior defender Kelly Pierce has been a dynamo for the Monarchs this season, leading the team in ground balls with 51 while her 36 caused turnovers is second on the team and ninth in the MAC Freedom.
• Sophomore Mary Kate Klodarska has continually improved for the Monarchs, scoring 12 more goals than she did in 2018, as her 34 points and 16 assists are both second on the squad.
• Freshman Emily Sims is third on the team in points with 26 goals and nine assists, while Emma Lehman is second on the team with 33 goals.
• Sophomore Kylie McCarthy is one of three players with double digits in both goals and assists, as she is fifth on the team with 30 points on 16 goals and 14 assists.
• The Monarchs are looking for their first ever MAC or MAC Freedom Tournament victory Wednesday, having posted an all-time mark of 0-7 in conference tournament action.

A Look At The Cougars (12-5, 7-0 MAC Freedom):

• Misericordia has won its last nine games coming into the MAC Freedom Tournament, including a 20-3 win on Saturday against Delaware Valley. Misericordia has score 20 or more goals in each of its last four games.
• The Cougars lead the conference in goals scored this season with 265, while allowing 146, as their scoring margin of 7.0 leads the league.
• Kaila Quinlivan has scored a MAC Freedom high of 57 goals this season, adding 34 assists as well to rank third in the conference in points per game with 5.35.
• Amy Roth has tallied 34 goals for the Cougars, as she ranks 14^th in the conference in points per game with 3.24.
• Freshman goalkeeper Maggie McGovern is second in the conference in goals against average with 8.58, while posting a save percentage of 48.7 percent.
• Brianna Ladner is first on the team and 11^th in the MAC Freedom with ground balls per game, tallying 2.69 pick-ups a contest, while also leading the team in caused turnovers with 1.44.
• The Cougars are 4-5 all-time in the MAC Freedom Tournament, having lost the last four years in the title game to FDU-Florham.

Against Misericordia All-Time: King's is 7-11 all-time against the Cougars, having dropped the last eight contests. King's has played the Cougars in the MAC Freedom Tournament twice before Wednesday, losing in 2015 and 2018.

Up Next: The winner of the two semifinal contests Wednesday will play at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, May 4 at a time to be determined. The winner of that contest will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.