EDWARDSVILLE, PA (March 20, 2024) -- A strong team effort by the King's College men's lacrosse team came up short in a heartbreaking 11-10 double overtime loss to cross town rival Wilkes on Wednesday evening. The Monarchs are now 1-4 overall.
 
Wilkes (3-4) wasted no time as they netted the first two goals of the evening at Schmidt Stadium. King's responded back with Jake Cierech (Jr.) finding the back of the net at 13:26 thanks to an assist by Brendan Dennis (Fy.). The hosts answered with two more goals at 7:36 to make the score 4-1. The Monarch defense played hard for six straight minutes, but the Colonels once again netted a goal at 1:15. Just as Wilkes thought they silenced their visitors, King's added the last tally of the quarter after John Wall (Jr.) found Ryan Lynch (So.) at 0:33. The Monarchs were down 5-2 at the end of the first quarter.
 
King's had all of the momentum and witnessed Cierech score at 13:44 of the second quarter. The Monarchs continued to pester Wilkes and caused several turnovers and a shot clock violation. Joe Giannella (Sr.) grabbed his first goal of the night at 11:31 to get within one of their opponents. Both teams traded shots as time went down, but the rest of the quarter was scoreless heading into halftime. The Colonels had a 5-4 lead.
 
Geno Casceillo opened the second half with a faceoff win. King's then took advantage of a turnover and Wall gained a goal at 12:48. Wilkes responded back with their own tally at 11:34 by Tim Hartka. That was not stopping the Monarchs as they went on a 4-1 run that included goals made by Lynch, Giannella, Dennis, and Wall. At 2:47, the Colonels found the back of the net after a faceoff win to put them within one. King's had the lead at the end of the third quarter 9-8.
 
Wilkes tied the game up at 14:43 after a tally made by Matthew Warns. Though Cierech answered back at 12:01 with an assist by Ben Spencer (Jr.). Wilkes gained an offensive possession late in the fourth quater and took a timeout. After the timeout the Colonels scored a tying goal at 5:48. King's took the last shot of the fourth quarter, but their hosts forced the game into overtime.
 
In the first overtime of the night, the Colonels had the advantage after a won faceoff by J'vier Johnson. Both teams battled hard searching for a scoring opportunity, but the game went on to yet another overtime.
 
Both adversaries went back-and-forth making great defensive plays. Wilkes came out on top after a last second goal to put the game away. King's fell 11-10.
 
The Monarchs finished with 51 shots, 44 ground balls, 16-26 in faceoffs, and 26-33 in clears. Cierech and Lynch produced three goals each while Giannella added two of his own. Wall dished out three assists. Casceillo picked up 10 ground balls and went 15-25 in faceoffs. Jackson Campbell (Sr.) had 13 saves in net.
 
Wilkes ended with 41 shots, 47 ground balls, 18 caused turnovers, 10-26 in faceoffs, and 21-27 in clears. Hartka led the team with five goals on 10 shots. Colby Opromolla had two goals, three assists, six ground balls, and five caused turnovers. Johnson went 4-5 in faceoffs and collected 10 ground balls. Joseph Marino had 16 saves in net.

King's has a quick turnaround as they travel to Immaculata to take on the Mighty Macs on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.