WILKES-BARRE, PA (April 19, 2023) -- The King's College men's lacrosse team outscored Lycoming College, 4-1, in the final quarter as they staged a valiant comeback effort before falling, 9-7, in Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play on Wednesday evening at McCarthy Stadium. With the setback, the Monarchs drop to 0-12 overall and 0-5 in the conference standings, while the Warriors improve to 6-8 with a 3-2 MAC Freedom mark.
 
Lycoming (6-8, 2-5 MAC Freedom) had a strong start to the contest, outscoring King's (0-12, 0-5 MAC Freedom) 4-1 in the opening period as Ben Spencer got a feed from Ryan Lynch to put the Monarchs on the board with 5:49 left in the first. The Warriors scored 23 seconds into the second to take a 5-1 lead, but the Monarchs closed within three on a man-up goal from EJ Schreiner with 8:49 to play in the half. Lycoming had the final say as they netted a goal with 3:08 remaining to take the 6-2 lead at the half.
 
King's struck first in the second half as Lynch found the back of the net with 10:50 to play in the third, but the Warriors would score three unanswered tallies with the last coming at 12:10 left in the fourth.
 
The Monarchs staged their comeback effort, first with a Jack Wall goal with 11:01 remaining before Schreiner netted his second goal of the game at the 6:58 mark of the period. Wall came up big on an extra-man opportunity off an assist from Lynch in transition to close within three with 2:55 to play, before Spencer delivered his second tally in the contest just 49 seconds later.
 
It would be a defensive battle that saw each team's goalies hold their foes scoreless in the final 2:06 as Lycoming held on to win, 9-7, despite the gritty effort from the Monarchs.
 
Lynch led the Monarchs with three points on a goal and two assists, while Schreiner picked up two points on his two goals with a team-high 11 shots. Ryan Dolphin led the defense with three caused turnovers, while Redmond Cahill went 8-for-12 in face offs and Geno Casciello was efficient going 5-for-7. Matt Wall picked up the loss despite a 16-save effort with a team-best five ground balls.
 
Both Sean Farrell and Andrew Ednie totaled four points in the win for the Warriors as Farrell posted a hat trick of three goals and an assists, while Ednie put up a pair of goals and assists. Ben Franco earned the win in goal in 45 minutes, making nine saves and collecting five ground balls.
 
As a team, the Monarchs out shot Lycoming, 37-36, including a 16-6 edge in the fourth. The Monarchs defense forced 19 Warrior turnovers while the teams were tied with 28 ground balls each. Additionally, the Monarchs were 20-for-24 in clear opportunities and edged out Lycoming, 13-6, in face offs.
 
The Monarchs will be on the road on Saturday afternoon as they travel to Center Valley, Pa. to take on DeSales University. The MAC Freedom contest is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.