REISTERSTOWN, MD (February 6, 2026) -- A lockdown defensive effort by the King's College women's hockey team through the final 46 minutes of play wasn't enough on Friday evening, as the Monarchs dropped their Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) matchup at Stevenson University, 2-0 at the Reisterstown Sportsplex. With the loss, King's falls to 1-20-0 on the season and 1-16-0 in conference play. The Mustangs improve to 4-15-1 overall and 4-11-1 in the MAC.
 
Maddie Vaughan immediately established herself in the faceoff circle to start the first period, winning three consecutive draws in the span of 19 seconds of action. Stevenson began to develop offensive pressure just over two minutes into the contest, forcing Monarch goaltender Will McPherson to make a pair of saves.
 
King's remained poised in their defensive zone with Sammi Stead laying out for a blocked shot while McPherson continued to deny bids by the Mustangs. Jerrett Tietz produced the Monarchs' first scoring opportunity of the night at 5:51, but was unable to sneak one past the netminder.
 
Stevenson increased their attack, putting a pair of shots on goal in short succession. Despite McPherson turning aside both attempts, the Mustangs were able to bury a rebound to take a 1-0 lead at 11:12.
 
The hosts went right back to work in the offensive zone following their first tally. Brenna Munn kept the puck out of McPherson's crease with a block, allowing the Monarchs to transition down the ice. Emma Heinrich and Abby Barlocker fired a pair of shots towards goal, but were unable to level the score.
 
The Mustangs doubled their lead at 13:34 on an even strength goal. Following the 2-0 marker, McPherson prevented further damage by making a trio of consecutive saves to keep the deficit from growing.
 
Caitlin Dube attempted to pull King's within a goal of tying the game with a shot in the final four minutes of the period but was denied by Stevenson's goaltender. The Monarchs headed to the power play at 15:51 and managed three shots; two of which were blocked while the third was saved to keep King's off the board heading into the first intermission.
 
In the second period, the Monarchs pushed back with their most productive stretch of the night, putting 12 shots on goal as McPherson continued to make timely saves at the other end of the ice. King's opened with consecutive looks from Maddie Vaughan and Emma Heinrich before the Mustangs answered with another wave of energy that McPherson smothered.
 
The Monarchs were awarded their second power play of the game at 6:26 and generated three shots on the advantage, including attempts from Annie Sommer and Barlocker. Despite the offensive pressure, the Mustang penalty kill unit was able to weather the storm and hold King's scoreless as play returned to five-aside.
 
McPherson repeatedly stepped up to make key saves during the middle frame, including five in the span of less than one minute. The Monarch goalie received some help from Vaughan, who blocked a shot at 9:08.
 
The Mustangs rang the post at 11:05 and kept firing while McPherson stacked saves through traffic to keep the margin at two. King's drew a third penalty at 12:51 and quickly tested the netminder on shots by Tietz and Heinrich, then added three more attempts by Amanda Sokol and Barlocker in the final portion of the advantage. The Mustangs closed the kill, but the Monarchs answered with late chances from Brenna Munn and Caitlin Dube that were turned away.
 
After 40 minutes of play, both teams exited the ice with the hosts still in control of a 2-0 lead while King's looked to claw their way back into the contest.
 
The third period opened with the Mustangs pressing again and McPherson answering with calm stops as the Monarchs worked to get pucks out of lanes.  Nina Anzalone and Aerie Sanders stacked blocks from the outset to slow entries before McPherson turned away another look shortly thereafter.
 
Stevenson kept the shot count moving as King's absorbed a flurry of attempts that included blocks by Stead and Vaughan. McPherson remained sharp between the pipes to keep the game within the Monarchs' reach.
 
The Mustangs went to the power play twice in the middle stages of the final frame, but were unable to capitalize thanks to a pair of blocks by Dube along with five McPherson denials. Alexis Jones and Sokol both put pucks on goal, but couldn't solve the Stevenson goaltender. The score held firm at 2-0 as regulation time expired.
 
Barlocker and Sommer paced the King's offense with three shots apiece. At the faceoff dot, Tietz and Vaughan led the way with nine wins each. McPherson turned in a 49-save effort in goal and received help from Dube's three blocks along with two from Vaughan and Stead.
 
The Monarchs return home to the Revolution Ice Centre tomorrow for the third and final installment of their MAC series with Lebanon Valley College. Puck drop against the Flying Dutchmen is slated for 7:00 p.m.