WILKES-BARRE, PA (April 29, 2023) -- It was a true battle of cross-town rivals as the King's College men's lacrosse team fell, 11-9, to Wilkes University in their Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) game on Saturday afternoon at McCarthy Stadium. With the setback, the Monarchs fall to 0-15 and 0-8 in the MAC Freedom, while the Colonels improve to 4-13 with a 2-6 conference mark.
 
King's (0-15, 0-8 MAC Freedom) started the game strong, scoring the first two goals as Ryan Lynch netted a goal off an assist from Ryan Barnes just 3:01 into the game before EJ Schreiner scored an unassisted goal with 4:56 to go in the quarter. Wilkes (4-13, 2-6 MAC Freedom) put a tally up with 2:04 to go, but the Monarchs responded with a man-up goal from Ben Spencer off an assist from Schreiner with 12 seconds to play in the period to hold a 3-1 edge at the end of the first.
 
It was an even second period as the Colonels put up a pair to tie the game, 3-3, before King's scored two in the final 1:34 of the half. Lynch netted his 20^th goal of the season on a find from Nate Hullinger before Barnes found the back of the net as time expired to take the 5-3 advantage at the break.
 
The Colonels would go on a tear, putting up four goals over the first 9:01 of the third to jump ahead, 7-5, but the Monarchs had an answer as Barnes found Lynch again while Jake Cierech netted a goal with 1:40 left to tie the game, 7-7. Wilkes had the final saw in the third, scoring with 11 seconds left as King's faced an 8-7 deficit heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
 
Wilkes struck first in the fourth, but King's had an answer as Lynch tallied his fourth goal of the game with 8:11 remaining. The Colonels would rebuild their lead, going up 11-8 with 3:59 to play. Schreiner would find Lynch in transition with 1:14 to go in the contest, closing within 11-9, but the Monarchs would come up short as the Colonels ran out the clock, falling 11-9 in the season finale.
 
Lynch totaled five points off five goals on 10 shots, including seven on target, with two ground balls, while both Barnes and Schreiner tallied three points on a goal and two assists. Redmond Cahill went 4-for-7 on face offs, while Geno Casciello posted a 6-for-14 effort with three ground balls. Ryan Dolphin led the defense with three caused turnovers and four ground balls, while both Logan Byers and Brent Cassium caused a pair of turnovers and picked up four ground balls. Matt Wall was strong in goal in the first 39:01 of play, making eight saves and collecting a team-high seven ground balls, while Joe Plachcinski posted two saves in the final 20:59.
 
Colby Opromolla led Wilkes with five points on two goals and three assists while collecting a team-high five ground balls, while Tim Hartka tallied a hat trick off a team-best eight shots. Luke Wawrzynek led Wilkes in faceoffs going 11-for-21 with five ground balls, while Joseph Marino earned the win between the pipes, posting 12 saves.
 
As a team, the Monarchs outshot the Colonels, 45-41, while the defense forced 26 turnovers and collected 34 ground balls. King's went 24-31 on clear opportunities while scoring twice on extra-man opportunities.