ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – Eastern Men's Lacrosse earned a dramatic 7-6 victory over visiting Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon. Tim Lamb scored two fourth quarter goals that were part of a four-goal second half for the Eagles to claim the victory.

Eastern (3-4) took an early 1-0 lead when Desmond Decker netted an unassisted goal just under the eight-minute mark of the first quarter. However, a two-goal run by Illinois Wesleyan (4-3) gave the Titans a 2-1 lead after the opening quarter.

Lamb tied the game at 2-2 in the early stages of the second quarter when he tallied an unassisted man-up goal with just over 13 minutes left to play before the half. Illinois Wesleyan would use another two-goal run, however, to retake the lead at 4-2 with just over six minutes left to play in the second quarter. Grant Smith pulled the Eagles to within one under a minute later when he finished off a Lamb pass to make 4-3. A Titans goal with under a minute left to play in the quarter made it 5-3 going into the locker rooms.

Brian Mizell single-handedly dominated the third quarter scoring two goals of his own. After a majority scoreless quarter, Mizell finished off a great pass from Decker to cut the deficit to just one at 5-4. Mizell struck again not even two minutes later to tie the game at 5-5 when he tallied an unassisted goal.

With the score tied at the start of the fourth quarter, both teams were looking for an edge and Lamb gave it to Eastern. Less than a minute into the quarter Lamb netted his second goal of the afternoon to give the Eagles their first lead, 6-5, since the opening quarter when it was 1-0. Illinois Wesleyan, however, came right back less than two minutes later to tie the game at 6-6 with over 12 minutes left to play.

Each team traded possessions and shots from there on out but neither could find a way past the others goalie or even defense. With just over two minutes left to play, Eastern had a chance to take the lead. After a successful clear and timeout, Decker got a solid look at the net but Titans goalie Steven Laduzinsky made a great save to keep the score tied. Illinois Wesleyan then got a chance to take the lead, but a shot by Michael Julius whistled wide of the net. Kadeem Colburn then caused a turnover by Julius and picked up the groundball to start the clear attempt. The Eagles found Lamb in transition who made a great move to get around his defender and fire a shot past Laduzinsky for what proved to be the game-winner with just 26 seconds left in the game.

Lamb finished the day with three goals and an assist while Mizell totaled two goals and two groundballs. Jameal Hadeed stood tall for Eastern all day making 12 saves while his counterpart Laduzinsky made 16.

Eastern hosts Susquehanna on March 22nd at 4 pm.