READING, PA (March 20^th, 2024) -- The King's College men's lacrosse team had a fourth quarter comeback that came up shy in their loss against Alvernia (2-3) on Saturday afternoon. The Monarchs (1-3) fell to the Golden Wolves 7-5 at Alvernia University Turf Field.
 
King's were able to create several shots on the offensive end in the opening two-minutes of the game. Yet Alvernia netted a goal at 10:28 by Ethan McManus and an assist by Kyle Patton. The first quarter remained scoreless as the Monarchs caused several turnovers and looked for an offensive edge.
 
Alvernia wasted no time and scored at 14:20, though Geno Casceillo (Sr.) won the next faceoff and create a new opportunity for King's. After Jon Wiedow (Sr.) forced a turnover, Joe Giannella (Sr.) got down the field and found Ryan Dolphin (Jr.) for a Monarch goal at 11:43. That was not going to silence their hosts as McManus found the back of the net once again. At 7:49 Ben Spencer (Jr.) added a tally to the scoreboard to get within one. The Golden Wolves made the last goal of the half at 4:55 to have a two-point cushion.  The score was 4-2 at the end of the second.
 
The third quarter was scoreless for 10-minutes with both teams trying to create an edge. The Golden Wolves scored the only goal of the quarter at 5:35. The Monarchs made strong defensive efforts going during the final minutes.
 
Alvernia maintained their momentum with a 2-1 run at 9:58 on the clock. King's continued to fight on and Spencer gained his second at 7:39. As the Monarchs inched closer, the Golden Wolves gained another goal. That was not stopping King's as they scored two more thanks to an unassisted goal by Ryan Barnes (Jr.) and a goal by Brendan Dennis (Fy.) to make the score 7-5 with 1:20 left on the clock. The Monarchs gained control and called a timeout at 0:45. The final buzzer ultimately went off and King's fell 7-5 after a valiant push.
 
The Monarchs finished with 47 shots, 23 shots on goal, 14 ground balls, and 14 caused turnovers. Dolphin fueled the team with one goal, three ground balls, and three caused turnovers. Spencer had two goals for the day. Wiedow caused three turnovers and had two ground balls. Jackson Campbell (Sr.) created eight saves on the day in net.
 
Alvernia ended with 23 shots, 15 shots on goal, 21 ground balls, 12 caused turnovers, and went 13-16 in faceoffs. Both McManus and Howley sparked the offense with two goals each. Christian Wright pushed the defense with seven ground balls and caused five turnovers. Jack Kenney went 11-14 on faceoffs.
 
King's will continue on the road as they take on cross town rival Wilkes at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20^th. The squad will travel to Immaculata to battle against the Mighty Macs at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 22^nd.