SWARTHMORE, Pa.- Eastern University Men's Lacrosse rallied from three second-half deficits before falling 8-7 at Swarthmore College in the season-opener for both teams. The host Garnet scored the game-winner with under two minutes to play for the game winner. Chris Farrar led the Eagles with three goals and an assist.

Eastern (0-1) started four freshmen in various positions on the field. Kyle Lansey took advantage of the opportunity and tallied his first career marker midway through the first period on a feed from Matt Soldano. Swarthmore held much of the possession and scored the equalizer in the closing minutes of the first period.

Lansey again gave the Eagles a lead with a finish on the back post from Farrar, but the Garnet scored the final two goals of the period to give the hosts a 3-2 edge at the intermission. Swarthmore gained the edge despite a 6-5 disadvantage in shots on goal and losing all four face-offs in the period. Eastern junior face-off specialist A.J. Ryan dominated the spot throughout the day. He won 15-of-19 draws on the afternoon.

The Eagles won the opening face-off of the third period and had two good looks at goal, but the Garnet, who had been deliberate on attack throughout the afternoon, caught the Eagles off guard with a transition goal to grab a 4-2 lead. Moments later, Swarthmore took advantage of another turnover and pushed their lead to 5-2. 

Swarthmore had possession with a chance to stretch the lead to four, but first year defender Jordan Norris forced a turnover and recovered the ground ball to put Eastern back on attack. With the clock running down on the clear, defender Jon Pacitto earned the box and tumbled to the turf on a push. On the ensuing man-up chance, Will Johnson ripped home his first of two on the day after a neat feed from Grant Ferguson. 

The Garnet again earned possession, and Norris again ripped a ball free. He was leveled by an elbow to the head as he picked up the ball, and the Eagles again made the extra man opportunity pay off as Farrar popped a feed from Ferguson from close range.

The two teams traded possessions until the Eagles grabbed the ball with 90 seconds remaining in the period. Johnson dodged a pole with a stall warning in place and his 15 yard shot found its mark to tie the game with three ticks remaining on the clock.

Swarthmore scored another transition goal after Eric Waibel's shot ricocheted of the helmet of a defender to start the break, Farrar again was the man on the spot as the Eastern ride jarred a ball loose and Norris grabbed the ground ball. Norris found Farrar in the clear and the junior attack man made it to the front of the crease with no defender in sight. After a quick fake high, he dropped in his second of the afternoon.

The Garnet again grabbed the lead on a man-up goal with six and a half minutes to play. Swarthmore forced another turnover and had possession right after the face-off. Norris again knocked the ball free and took a cross-check to the face for a two-minute non-releasable penalty. 

The Eastern man-up squad had its first shot saved, but hard ride from Farrar gave the Eagles another chance. Farrar then leveled the score at 7-7 on a feed from Kyle Gillam. The Eagles still had some man-up time remaining after the tying goal, but the Swarthmore zone did its job and Eastern held looking for a good scoring chance. With a stall warning in place, the Eagles stepped out of the box with the ball and it appeared that the Garnet would have a chance at the game-winner.

Swarthmore shot early, and Pat Groschan made a solid save with two minutes to play, but the Eastern clearing attempt failed, and Swarthmore's Brendan Conway picked up a loose ball and ran in alone for what turned out to be the game-winner. 

The Eagles battled for the ensuing face-off, but Swarthmore gained control after several seconds of chaos and was able to run out the clock.

The Eagles will have a week to work through their mistakes and to get more players healthy before playing at Hood College next Saturday.