ALLENTOWN, PA (September 1, 2023) -- First year Melanie Tlatenchi put the King's College field hockey team on the board and broke the stalemate late in the third quarter, but a surge by the host Cedar Crest College in the final minutes of the game saw the Monarchs fall in their season opener, 2-1, on the road on Friday afternoon. With the loss, the Monarchs start their 2023 slate 0-1, while the Falcons begin with a 1-0 mark.
 
King's (0-1) held the upper hand through the first half, holding an 11-1 edge in shots and a 5-0 advantage in penalty corners across the opening 30 minutes of action. Neither team could connect on their early opportunities as the game remained scoreless heading into the break.
 
The Monarchs kept up their intensity in the third, earning a penalty corner in the 31^st minute before senior Jessie Smalley and junior Emma Clark fired off shots, but the Cedar Crest goalie maintained the scoreless contest. King's then broke through and capitalized on their opportunities as Tlatenchi took a feed from fellow first year Shaylee Heffron and found the back of the cage to give King's the 1-0 edge with 2:05 to play in the period.
 
The final frame saw the hosts make their comeback, exploding for five of their seven shots and eight of their nine penalty corners in the contest. The Falcons snuck in two late goals, the first with 2:07 remaining then the game-winner with just 20 ticks left on the clock as the Monarchs fell, 2-1, on the road at the FalconPlex on Friday afternoon.
 
Tlatenchi and Heffron picked up points in their first collegiate contest, while junior Grace Venis posted a save in her first career start in the cage for King's. The offense was led by Smalley with five shots, including four on goal, while junior Hannah Chocallo totaled four shots. Clark tallied three shots, all on target, and senior Ashley Thalassinos rounded out the efforts with two shots.
 
Cedar Crest was led by Adriana Hinkle who recorded a goal and an assist off three shots, including two on goal, while Zakiyyah Sabir added the other tally for the Falcons. The hosts goalkeeper in Kadee Schrader eliminated nine shots in the win in the complete-game effort.
 
As a team, the Monarchs out shot the Falcons 16-7 overall with an 11-3 edge in shots on target. King's also posted eight penalty corners in their opener.
 
King's will return to Wilkes-Barre, Pa. on Sunday afternoon as they host Keystone College in their home opener at McCarthy Stadium at 1:00 p.m.