J.R. Lauri and Patrick McTague scored crucial goals late but the Misericordia University men's lacrosse team lost an 8-7 heartbreaker to King's, Wednesday night at Mangelsdorf Field.

The Cougars very nearly rallied from a three-goal second half deficit, and from two down in the final 82 seconds, but Monarch goalie Kevin Conzola stonewalled both Lauri and Kyle Calabro in the last minute to help King's escape.

Lauri finished with two goals and two assists, while fellow sophomore Matt Gonzalez had a game-high four assists. Juniors Lee Blair and McTague each scored twice.

Early in the fourth quarter Gonzalez hit the post, but followed that with a great cross-field pass to Lauri that made it 7-6 King's with 10:12 left to play.

The Monarchs restored their two-goal lead, before McTague gave Misericordia a chance with his late tally.

MU found itself down 6-3 late in the third quarter, when Calabro cut the deficit to two with a feed from Gonzalez behind the goal. Calabro then lost possession while trying to pull the trigger after slipping in behind the defense. Refusing to give up, the sophomore won the ball back and Lauri was there to pick up the ground ball and find Blair for a big goal that made it 6-5 King's heading into the final period.

The Monarchs made their big push with four goals in the final six-plus minutes of the first half. After a fluky goal saw Gonzalez's pass deflect off McTague's stick and in to even the score at two, the sides exchanged three power play goals late in the second quarter (two for King's). The visitors scored twice more just before the break to take a 6-3 advantage into halftime.

MU goalie Ryan Kay made 11 stops, including a great point-blank save from the right side with Misericordia protecting an early 1-0 lead.

The Cougars were unlucky late in the first quarter, as Gonzalez's power play shot hit the post and King's took off the other way for a shorthanded goal and a 2-1 lead. MU was also hurt by a poor performance in the faceoff circle, losing 14 of 19 draws.

Misericordia falls to 6-4, 2-2 and will host Alvernia, Saturday at 1 PM.