EDWARDSVILLE, PA (April 29, 2023) -- Senior Jessie Smalley made the most of her final game as a Monarch as she made 20 saves in relief as the King's College women's lacrosse team defeated cross-town rival Wilkes University, 11-10, in their season finale on Saturday afternoon. With the road win in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) contest, the Monarchs improve to 3-13 overall and 2-7 in the conference, while the Colonels drop to 3-14 with an 0-8 MAC Freedom mark.
 
King's (3-13, 2-7 MAC Freedom) stormed out of the gate, netting two goals as Grace Venis tallied the first goal of the game on a feed from Sarah Schultz, before Schultz scored 1:33 later thanks to an assist from Kyleigh Dunworth to go ahead, 2-0. Wilkes (3-14, 0-8 MAC Freedom) broke up the Monarchs scoring with a tally with 4:51 to play, but Dunworth would score on a pass from Chloe Burke before Burke put up an unassisted goal with 1:33 left in the period to hold a 4-1 edge at the end of the first.
 
The teams traded goals to start the second as Ashley Dias scored an extra-man goal with 13:29 to go in the second, but the Colonels responded with a tally to see the Monarchs lead, 5-2, with 12:03 left in the half. King's went on a tear, scoring four goals to end the half, including two from Venis, as the Monarchs led, 9-2, at the break.
 
Dunworth scored on an assist from Smalley with 10:50 to play in the third, holding a 10-2 advantage over the Colonels, but Wilkes would respond to score the next three and close within, 10-5. King's got back in the scoring column with 5:28 to play in the period as Dias found Burke to push their lead to 11-5. It would be all Colonels down the stretch, scoring the next five goals in the game, but it would be the Monarchs defense to hold steady and help secure the 11-10 MAC Freedom win to end the women's lacrosse season on a high note!
 
Burke led King's with five points on three goals and two assists off five shots with a team-high nine draw controls and two ground balls. Venis put up four points on three goals and an assist, while Dunworth totaled three points on two goals and an assist. Additionally, Dias and Sarah Schultz tallied two points each on a goal and an assist. Vivian Williams led King's with four ground balls, while Brynn Pike caused three turnovers and collected three ground balls. Smalley earned the win in goal, making 20 saves in the final 57:45 of the game while also picking up four ground balls.
 
Wilkes was led by Maleah Cobham with five points on five goals off 13 shots with five draw controls and three ground balls. Carley Yuhas caused five turnovers and collected six ground balls, while Samantha Scott picked up the loss with six saves.
 
As a team, the Monarchs put up 21 shots, including 17 on target, while forcing 19 turnovers. King's made 15 successful clears, won 12 draw controls, and collected 19 ground balls.