ALLENTOWN, PA (September 3, 2025) – First-year head coach Kirby Szalkowski and the King's College field hockey team earned their first win of 2025 on Wednesday night in a 1-0 overtime thriller over Cedar Crest. The Monarchs move to 1-1 on the year while the Falcons slide to 1-2. 

Following a trio of shots six minutes into overtime, junior Melanie Tlatenchi netted the game winner as Shaylee Heffron set her up with a pass off a deflected save.

After a physical and evenly played first half, the Monarchs and Falcons remained scoreless through 30 minutes of action. King's generated a pair of quality looks in the opening quarter, with Melanie Tlatenchi sending a shot wide and Reagan Joiner forcing a save from the Cedar Crest keeper. The Monarchs also earned a penalty corner but couldn't convert.

On the defensive end, junior goalkeeper Emily Bollinger turned away four shots in the half to keep the Falcons off the board. Despite a high number of fouls on both sides, King's stayed composed and organized, carrying momentum into the break.

The third and fourth quarters continued in the same gritty fashion, with both sides battling for possession in a foul-heavy contest. The Monarchs pressed forward with several penalty corners, including a flurry midway through the third quarter that saw Heffron force a save on a well-placed shot. On the back end, Bollinger remained sharp, notching crucial saves in both quarters to keep the match level.

In the fourth, Cedar Crest ramped up the pressure, generating three quality shots in a two-minute span. Bollinger came up big once again, making back-to-back saves before the Monarch defense turned away another chance with a key defensive stop following a penalty corner.

With the score locked at 0-0 after regulation, the match headed to sudden-death overtime. King's controlled play in the extra period, generating multiple penalty corners through the efforts of Tlatenchi. After three close calls from Davina Krappa, Tlatenchi delivered the winner in the 68th minute, finishing off a feed from Heffron for her first goal of the season.

Bollinger capped off her standout performance with seven saves in the shutout, while King's outshot Cedar Crest 9-7 and held a commanding advantage in penalty corners. Krappa led the Monarchs with three shots while Tlatenchi sent in two shots.

King's field hockey is set to play again on Saturday, September 6, as they head to Immaculata for a non-conference matchup at 11:00 AM.