CHESTER, Pa.- Eastern University Men's Lacrosse fell behind early and was unable to overcome the deficit in an 8-5 loss at Widener University. The MAC-leading Pride built a 4-0 lead and held off a late charge to earn the win. Matt Soldano scored twice to pace the Eastern offense.

Widener set the tone early with physical play and strong play on ground balls. The hosts scored twice in the first five minutes before the Eastern attack had a chance to see the ball. Eastern had the ball for much of the final ten minutes of the opening period, but Widener net-minder Tommy Hoopes made four of his nine saves in that stretch to keep the Eagles off the board.

The Pride scored twice more in the middle of the second period to build their lead before the Eagles would scratch on a blistering shot from David Darling on a feed from Will Johnson. Darling's low-to-high effort was his 20th of the season.

The Pride controlled the ground ball game in the third period and built their lead to 7-1 before Matt Wagner skidded in his first of the year to give the Eagles some life. Soldano and Zach Ivy scored early in the fourth and goalie Aaron Benz made a huge save in transition that seemed to shift momentum, but a costly turnover led to Widener's eighth goal of the of the day with just under nine minutes to play. Eastern finished with 20 turnovers to just 12 for their hosts.

Soldano scored his second of the day with 4:44 to play, but the Eagles were unable to cut the lead further. For the game, the Pride held a slim 30-29 advantage in shots.

Eastern (6-5, 5-2 MAC) will host Lycoming College in a critical MAC game this Saturday at 3:00 pm.