WILKES-BARRE - The Wilkes University field hockey team got back in the win column with a 4-0 shutout victory over the King's College Monarchs Wednesday night on Staff Appreciation Night.
The win improves the Colonels to 3-1 on the season, matching their win total from the previous year.
Both teams were held scoreless late in the first quarter, but Shaelyn Donnelly (Glassboro, NJ/GCIT) got the Colonels on the board with her first goal of the 2025 season at 12:02. Lydia Keppel (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) picked up her first collegiate assist on that goal.
Late in the second quarter, Keppel would score a goal of her own. With less than two minutes remaining in the half, the first-year scored her second goal of the season off an assist from Sage Morgan (Dallas, PA/Lake Lehman) to make it 2-0 Wilkes at the break.
Early in the third quarter, Maddie Karp (Pittston, PA/Pittston Area) kept the momentum rolling for the Colonels with a goal at the 36:25 mark to make it 3-0. The Colonels held that lead going into the fourth quarter with complete control of the game as they outshot the Monarchs 10-4 up to that point.
In the fourth quarter, Karp struck again with her second goal of the game. Karp found the back of the cage at 50:59 thanks to an assist from Emma Lautenbacher (Bangor, PA/Bangor). King's did threaten to end the shutout with seven penalty corners in the frame, but lights out defense and goalkeeping for the Colonels kept the score at 4-0 until the final buzzer.
Karp's two goals and five shots on goal led the Colonels on offense, along with the contributions from Donnelly, Keppel, Morgan, and Lautenbacher. In goal, Chloe Gilroy (Manchester, NH/Pace University) got the win and made five saves. As a team, the Colonels outshot the Monarchs 14-10, including 9-5 in shots on goal. The Monarchs did have 12 penalty corners to the Colonels five, but each and every time the Wilkes defense held strong.
The Colonels will stay at home for their next game against McDaniel College on Saturday, Sept. 13. The game begins at 1 p.m.
