SALISBURY, Md.– Eastern University Men's Lacrosse never trailed in regulation, but saw its hopes of advancing in the NCAA Tournament dashed as Morrisville State scored twice in the fourth quarter and again on the first possession of overtime to claim an 8-7 win.

The Eagles, who scored 37 goals in their two MAC Freedom Tournament games, were forced to play at a deliberate pace, as the Mustangs (12-7) sat deep in a zone and looked to extend possessions on offense. At that pace, mistakes became costly and possessions took on greater value. The two teams were tied at 5-5 at halftime.

Neither team scored in the first ten minutes of the second half. Finally, Matt Auletti put the Eagles up 6-5 on his second of the day on a nice pass from Jake Billera. Trevor Gallion put away an overhead finish with 1:55 on the clock in the third to double the Eastern lead. The Eagles won the ensuing faceoff, but missed on a chance to stretch the lead further on a turnover in traffic.

Morrisville closed the gap to a goal on the first possession of the fourth, but the Eagles seemed to have more opportunities as the quarter progressed. Each time, however, the possession ended without an Eastern goal.

The Mustangs tied the game after an Eastern turnover late in the team's only man-up chance of the day. Morrisville went to goal in transition and tied the game with 4:49 on the clock.

The Eastern offense had only one chance the rest of the way. Billera's shot was blocked. The Eagle defense held it's ground as Morrisville had the ball for the final two and a half minutes of the game, but the faceoff in overtime went to Morrisville, and Nick Geswaldo put away his second of the day for the game winner.

The Eagles opened the game with Billera's first of three goals on the day. Zach Bauer then doubled the Eastern lead with a goal on the ensuing faceoff. Billera added two more after Morrisville tied the game, but the Eagles were never able to stretch a lead to three goals. Auletti put the Eagles up 5-4 late in the half, but that lead lasted less than two minutes as Geswaldo tied the game with exactly a minute remaining on the clock.

Jameal Hadeed made six saves in the loss. He ends his Eastern career with 623 saves and a .611 career save percentage. He is second to Aaron Benz in career wins and save percentage and behind only Zach Rivest in total saves.

Billera, with four points today, tied Matt Soldano on the career-points list. Soldano was the highest-scoring midfielder in program history.

The Eagles (12-7) earned the trip to the NCAA Tournament with their sixth MAC Freedom Championship in the last seven years. Morrisville State will play the defending National Champion Salisbury Sea Gulls tomorrow at 4:00 PM.