WILKES-BARRE, PA (March 12, 2025) -- The King's College men's lacrosse team out scored their foes, 3-1, in the fourth quarter, but their comeback efforts came up just shy in an 11-8 setback to Wilkes University on Wednesday night at McCarthy Stadium. The Monarchs move to 0-5 overall, while the Colonels jump to 2-4.
 
It was all Wilkes (2-4) early on as the visitors scored the first five goals of the game. After a Colonel turnover with 5:29 to go in the first, the Monarchs capitalized as John Wall fed Jake Cierech for King's (0-5) first score of the night. That tally sparked a 3-0 run by the Monarchs as Brenden Lynch and Wall tacked on their own goals to close within two, 5-3, with 3:06 left in the frame.
 
Wilkes found the back of the net once more in the first and carried that momentum into the second as they recorded the only two goals in the defense-heavy quarter to take an 8-3 lead heading into the locker room.
 
After an early Wilkes goal 1:51 into the third, Ryan Dolphin jump started the King's offense, collecting the ground ball on a failed Colonels clear and taking the it down the field to score with 10:59 remaining in the third. Zach Webb then got an assist from Ryan Lynch to make it a four-goal game, 9-5, with 4:07 left in the period. Wilkes put a stop to the King's run, finding the back of the net on a man-up opportunity 26 seconds later as the Monarchs faced a 10-5 deficit entering the final quarter of play.
 
The teams traded scores early as Ben Spencer got King's on the board off Wall's assist with 12:39 left before the Colonels scored their final goal of the night with 10:37 to play. Brenden Lynch tallied an unassisted goal out of a successful clear with 7:22 to go, and Wall scored again off a feed from Ryan Lynch with 4:28 on the clock, but the Colonels defense remained steady down the stretch as the Monarchs fell, 11-8, on Wednesday evening at McCarthy Stadium.
 
Wall paced the offense with four points on two goals and two assists off five shots, while Ryan Lynch added three points on three assists with six ground balls. Brenden Lynch had two scores on seven shots with five ground balls, while Spencer led the team with 11 shots on the night. Matt Dellapi won 10 face offs to go along with four ground balls, and both Chris O'Mara and Josh Hilpp picked up five. Additionally, Dolphin caused three turnovers with six ground balls, and Erik Matulevicius caused two of his own. Ryan Rickards made eight saves in the goal and added nine ground balls for King's.
 
Austin Sosnovik led Wilkes with six points on three goals and three assists off 10 shots, while Michael Rauch picked up seven ground balls and caused five turnovers. Cody Dembski won 11 face offs, and Caleb Miller made 12 saves to go along with seven ground balls.
 
King's finished with the edge in shots for the game, 43-39, over Wilkes and forced 24 Colonel turnovers. Additionally, the Monarchs had the advantage in face offs, 12-11, for the contest and were successful on 21 clears.
 
The Monarchs will be off for the remainder of their spring break before returning to McCarthy Stadium on Wednesday, March 19 as they host Lycoming College at 7:00 p.m.