WILKES-BARRE, PA (March 27, 2024) -- The King's College men's lacrosse team falls short in a 13-11 loss to the Blazers of Hood in McCarthy Stadium. The Monarchs are now 1-6 overall to conclude their non-conference schedule.
 
King's started off strong after capitalizing on a Hood turnover and saw Brendan Dennis (Fy.) score the first goal of the game at 13:35. While on defense for several minutes, Jackson Campbell (Sr.) produced numerous saves as the starting goalkeeper for the Monarchs. Ryan Lynch found the back of the net at 7:37 to put King's up 2-0. The Blazers came right back and snuck in a goal at 6:32 by Aidan Gilsdorf. Hood went on to score three straight tallies and take a 4-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
Hood maintained their edge in the beginning of the second quarter and netted a goal at 13:16. The Monarchs responded back and took advantage of a player-up opportunity with a goal by Joe Giannella (Sr.) thanks to an assist by Ryan Barnes (Sr.). King's was not done there as they squad witnessed John Wall (Jr.) connect Ben Spencer (Jr.) for another tally on the scoreboard. The Blazers did not go silent as they found the back of the net at 5:32. Spencer returned the favor at 4:49 to get within one of the visitors. Hood scored back-to-back goals and created a three-point cushion with 3:23 left of the quarter. As time was expiring, Jon Wiedow (Sr.) caused a turnover and found Dennis for a last second goal. Heading into halftime the Monarchs were down 8-6.
 
The third quarter was much like the second with both opponents battling it out. King's were inching closer to their visitors at start of second half when Barnes netted an unassisted goal at 14:03. Hood answered the Monarchs' point with three-straight goals. Lynch and Jake Cierech (Jr.) produced back-to-back tallies to help King's get within two of the visitors. The Blazers had offensive possession and took a shot with time running out, but Campbell made a wicked save to end the quarter. Hood was in the lead 11-9 at the sound of the buzzer.
 
The Blazers opened up the fourth and final quarter with a goal at 14:40. On the defensive end, Ryan Dolphin (Jr.) made Hood turn the ball over to help the Monarchs get an offensive possession and have Spencer locate the back of the net at 13:01. The Blazers wasted no time and snagged a point at 11:39. It was scoreless for six minutes when Lynch earned a hat trick at 6:46. Time was expiring fast and King's searched for a scoring opportunity. Hood was able to withstand the Monarchs for a 13-11 win.
 
Kings finished with 30 shots, 21 ground balls, and went 18-22 in clears. Lynch had a team-high of four points with three goals and one assist. Spencer tacked on three goals on five shots to the stat sheet. Geno Casceillo (Sr.) picked up six ground balls. Campbell tied his career-high with 21 saves for the night in net and had a save percentage of .618.
 
Hood ended with 47 shots, 39 ground balls, and went 22-27 in faceoffs. Connor Flok fueled the offense with three goals and three assists. Both Rio Muldoon and Robbie Wiley earned three goals each. Garrett Hitchens went 22-27 in faceoffs and had 15 ground balls. Alex Dudziak produced four saves as starting goalkeeper while Calvin Morris finished the game with five saves.
 
The Monarchs are back on the road on Saturday, April 6^th at 1 p.m. to battle Lebanon Valley for a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom contest. The crew will return to McCarthy Stadium on Wednesday, April 10^th at 7 p.m. to have their MAC Freedom home opener against Stevens.