ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Lacrosse (2-5) led 6-4 after three periods, but the visiting Messiah College Falcons scored four times ina  three-minute stretch to open the fourth quarter and held on for an 8-7 non-league win. Jameal Hadeed made 18 saves to help the Eagles overcome a 14-to-5 disadvantage at the faceoff X.

The Eagles built a 5-2 halftime lead despite Messiah's early domination on faceoffs. The Falcons scored first, but Mark Buannic leveled the score after a strong ride by Trent Ashton poked the ball free from the Messiah goalie on the clear. Buannic picked up a the loose ball and fired into an empty net from 40 yards away.

Eastern's second goal came after an extended possession. The officials put the shot clock on, and less than two seconds later, Jake Billera beat his defender from behind the goal and fired home his first of two on the afternoon.

Matt Auletti scored three times in the second period to give the Eagles their halftime edge. Both teams took 19 first-half shots, but the Eagles forced Messiah into eight turnovers while only giving it away five times.

The Falcons scored the first two goals of the third before Ashton put away a highlight shot following a good save on a close shot from Hassan Mackey. Buannic battled for the ground ball and fed Ashton who was moving from left to right across the crease. The freshman attack went behind his head to the goalie's off-stick side for a 6-4 edge.

The fourth quarter was all about faceoffs. Messiah (3-4) won all six in the period, and put in four goals before the Eagles had any established possession. The first two goals of the period were only seven seconds apart.

Even after the Messiah burst, the Eagles showed life. Billera scored from Sean Fechter to close the gap to within a goal, and appeared that the Eagles tied the game with less than two minutes to play when Ashton put away a rebound of a Sean Fechter shot. He wound up in the crease, and Messiah was able to run a clear and run out the clock for the win.

"We are right there," Head Coach Kevin Wallace said after the game. "Jameal was great, but he cannot stop everything. We had a couple turnovers that we need to eliminate, and we have to keep working to get possession on faceoffs. Their guy [Messiah Freshman Lucas Honebrook] is good. We have to figure out a way to answer when we get a tough match up like that." Honebrook came into the game winning 61 percent of his faceoffs against a very good schedule. He won 14-of-19 against three different Eastern players.

The Eagles travel to St. Mary's College of Maryland on Wednesday and will play at No. 11 Dickinson on Saturday.