DALLAS, Pa.– A late rally fell short, and Eastern University Men's Lacrosse fell, 7-6, at Misericordia University in the MAC Freedom opener for both teams. The loss ends a 44-game winning streak against MAC Freedom Competition for the five-time defending MAC Freedom Champion Eagles.

Jake Pousson opened the scoring five minutes into the match, but the Eagles were unable to build on the goal, and the host Cougars scored three-straight goals in the final five minutes of the first quarter and added another two minutes into the second period to go up 4-1. Mark Buannic closed the Misericordia gap to 4-2 with his 11th goal of the year.

The Eagles had an extended possession with a chance to close the gap further to close out the half, but the Misericordia defense held its ground.

Misericordia scored three and  a half minutes into the second half and had a chance to build the lead further with the Eagles going down two men at the same time starting goalie Jameal Hadeed left with injury. The four poles in front of Brett McDonald stood strong and the rookie goalie did not need to make a save in the 30-second two-man-down situation. The Eagles rode the momentum of the kill and Bryan Goetz scored to bring the Eagles within two with 8:31 to play in the third period.

The Eagles had several chances to close the gap to a single goal, but Misericordia goalie Antonio Whyte made three saves in the final four minutes of the quarter to keep the Cougars up two. The Eagles started the fourth quarter up a man, but the chance went unfinished with a high shot and a turnover. Misericordia went up 6-3 on an extra-man goal midway through the fourth and seemed poised to extend the lead even further after another Eastern penalty with seven minutes left.

McDonald made a save and outraced a pair of Misericordia attackers to the rebound. He moved to avoid checks and as he was releasing a long pass took a big hit from a Cougar that was deemed unnecessary roughness which put the two teams at 5-on-5 for a minute. Jake Billera scored 15 seconds into the Cougar penalty. That progress was negated by a Cougar goal with four minutes to play.

Down 7-4, the Eagles needed a miraculous comeback. They picked up a break on a cross-check penalty with 1:18 on the clock. Matt Martin scored with 61 seconds left. The Eagles won the faceoff and Billera put away his second of the game with 17 seconds left to give the team a chance to win a faceoff for an opportunity. The Eagles won 9-of-15 faceoffs on the evening, but the Cougars kept the ball on the ground for most of the final seventeen seconds before Andrew Phillips picked up the ground ball to end the game.

McDonald made seven saves and allowed only two goals in relief. White made 12 saves.

The Eagles (5-6, 0-1 MAC Freedom) will host DeSales on Saturday at 1 pm.