HAVERFORD, Pa. – Eastern University Men's Lacrosse dropped a 7-6 heartbreaker at Haverford on the first day of spring break. Neither team led by more than two goals at any point in what turned into a defensive battle. Jake Pousson had a shot from eight yards out to tie the game at the horn, but the Haverford goalie stopped the shot at the near post to preserve the win.

The Fords won 11 of the first 12 faceoffs in the game. With the edge in possessions, the home team was able to dictate the pace of the game and force the Eastern defense into long periods of work. Haverford went up 2-0 in the first five minutes. The hosts were pressing to add to their lead when Jameal Hadeed made back-to-back stops and Bryan Mizell ran the ball clear.

The Eagles cut the Haverford lead in half when Hassan Mackey hit a cutting Grant Smith on the left side of the crease. Smith finished for his first of the year.

With a little less than four minutes to play in the first quarter, the Eagles went man-down for two minutes. The Eastern defense forced the Fords into tough situations and were able to get the ball on the ground several times, but each time, a Haverford player was able to win the ground ball battle and keep possession with a man up. The Eagles battled through and won the ball back shortly after going to even strength, and they worked for a good shot. Haverford goalie Dylan Slack stopped a Bryan Goetz attempt with a half a minute to go in the quarter, but Mark Buannic beat him with a high shot from the right alley to tie the score with nine seconds in the quarter.

Haverford scored the only goal of the second period and held a 3-2 lead at halftime. Hadeed had ten of his 18 saves in the first half. Slack made eight for the hosts.

Tim Lamb found Goetz for his eighth of the year only seconds into the second half. Lamb then finished a nice pass from Ethan Joseph to put the Eagles up 4-3 with five minutes to play in the third. The Fords closed out the period with a goal and scored twice in the first three minutes of the fourth for a 6-4 lead.

Goetz scored his ninth of the year to close the gap to 6-5 with a little less than eight minutes to play.

Haverford scored what would be the deciding goal on a strange play with two minutes left. Hadeed made a save on a shot from in tight and the ball popped in the air straight above his head. As he reached for the ball, a Haverford player checked his stick and the ball popped free to Isaac Krier. Krier popped in a close range shot from the crease for his third of the day.

The Fords won the ensuing faceoff and were working to salt the game away when Cole Millard put in a well-timed check to jar a ball loose. The Eagles reached the box with only 31 seconds on the clock and called timeout.

Jake Billera made a move on the back of the crease to free his hands and brought the Eagles to within a goal with 22 seconds to play. The Eagles needed a faceoff win to have a chance to tie the game, and they got it. Zach Bauer kept the ball on a the ground long enough for Elliot Smith to scoop it and head for the box. The Eagles reached the box and called timeout with eight seconds to play.

Billera looked to create in a very small amount of time and found Pousson at a tight angle right of the cage with just enough time to release the final shot.

The Eagles (1-2) leave for Colorado Springs early tomorrow morning. They will play Augustana (Ill.) on Tuesday and Colorado College on Friday.