WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 11, 2023) -- A gritty Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) match up required a second overtime period to break the stalemate as the King's College field hockey team fell in heartbreaking fashion, 4-3, in double overtime to FDU-Florham on Wednesday at McCarthy Stadium. The Monarchs drop their second straight and fall to 3-11 overall and 0-2 in the MAC Freedom standings, while the Devils improve to 5-7 and 1-1 in the conference.
 
FDU-Florham (5-7, 1-1 MAC Freedom) got on the board first, scoring 3:44 into the game despite two great saves from Grace Venis prior to the goal. King's (3-11, 0-2 MAC Freedom) had a response 1:16 later as Shaylee Heffron took a leading pass from Ashley Thalassinos and knocked the ball into the cage to knot the score, 1-1, early in the first. Heffron had another great look with 2:07 left in the quarter, but the shot went just wide as the game remained at a stalemate after the first 15 minutes.
 
The visiting Devils earned back-to-back corner opportunities in the 27^th minute, the first attempt thwarted by the Monarch defense before the second was successful to push the FDU-Florham lead to 2-1. Emma Clark posted the equalizer on a great move with 44 seconds to go in the half to enter the break tied again, 2-2.
 
King's jumped back on the offensive attack in the second half as Hannah Chocallo received a feed from Emma Bealla on a penalty corner and rocketed the shot past the FDU-Florham goalkeeper to put the Monarchs on top, 3-2, with 8:53 to play in the third. Venis came up with two big stops in the cage, and the defense blocked a third attempt as King's maintained their edge heading into the final period of regulation.
 
The instant thriller featured a stellar defensive stand by the Monarchs as Venis made two athletic saves, while Davina Krappa came up with a defensive save to try and preserve the advantage, but the Devils took the rebound off a penalty corner attempt to see the scoreboard read, 3-3, with 9:59 remaining. The Monarchs had two more penalty corners and a pair of shots to try and prevent the extra period, but the efforts fell short as the MAC Freedom contest entered overtime.
 
It was an evenly matched first overtime that spent much of its time in the midfield. King's earned the only penalty corner in the span and seemed to have scored the game winner, but the call was overturned on a Monarch foul as the game remained knotted at 3-3. The Devils secured an early corner opportunity in the 72^nd minute that saw Dominique Rodriquez tip in a shot off Morgan Keller's feed to defeat the Monarchs, 4-3, in double overtime in MAC Freedom play on Wednesday night at McCarthy Stadium.
 
Clark scored her goal off a team-high four shots with two on target, while Heffron posted two shots to collect her goal. Chocallo scored on her lone attempt in the contest, while Thalassinos and Bealla earned points on their assists. Venis had another strong outing in the cage, making eight saves in 72:41 of action.
 
Rodriguez notched two goals on four shots for the Devils, while Julianna Medina tallied a team-high five shots all on target. Emily Schlessinger picked up the win as she made two saves for the visitors.
 
As a team, the Monarchs were efficient as they placed five of their nine shots on the cage. King's were slightly edged in penalty corners, 8-7, by FDU-Florham.
 
The Monarchs will head back out of Wilkes-Barre this weekend as they take on Arcadia University on the road in Glenside in the MAC Freedom match up. Action is set to begin at 12:00 p.m.