GRANTHAM, Pa.– A short-handed Eastern University men's lacrosse squad earned a 13-9 win at Messiah College. First-year midfielder Antonio Yeoman scored six goals and fellow freshman Anthony Firmani won 16-of-23 face-offs as the Eagles never trailed.

How It Happened:
After the host Falcons (3-4) scored on the opening possession of the second quarter to tie the game at 3-3, the Eagles (4-5) reeled off five goals in an 11-minute stretch to grab control of the game. Sam Emig, a midfielder who started at attack in place of top-scorer Mark Buannic, scored three of his four goals in the burst. Both Buannic and Trent Ashton missed the game with injuries sustained in the midweek game against Widener. Yeoman scored the other two goals in the burst.

Firmani, who has split face-off duty with Zach Bauer through the early part of the year, took over as the primary man at the X with Bauer out. He won 10-of-15 face-offs in the first half and the Eagles took a 9-4 lead to halftime.

The host Falcons took advantage of Eastern's struggles in the clearing game to close the gap to 11-8 at the end of the third. Yeoman and Hassan Mackey scored in the frame, but the Falcons scored the first two goals of the frame and the final goal of the period with two seconds to play.

After  a slow start to the fourth, Chris Durning forced a turnover and collected a ground ball to grab a possession for his side. Colin Piper took advantage of the possession with his second goal of the afternoon to build the Eastern lead to 12-8 with eight minutes to play.. Piper, the only regular starting attackman in the line-up, finished with a pair of goals and three assists. Durning finished tied with Brett McDonald for a team-high eight ground balls. He also caused three turnovers.

The Falcons pulled back a goal with five and a half minutes to play. Messiah won the ensuing face-off, but McDonald made  another key save to keep the Falcons from building a run. Yeoman capped the scoring with his sixth of the day. Yeoman had five goals in his first seven collegiate games.

McDonald made 19 stops and grabbed eight ground balls in goal to pick up the win.

Coach Wallace Says:
"What a great team win today. We had a lot of guys step up when they where asked. Firmani did a great job at the X. He gave us plenty of possessions, and our defense was tough all day, and Brett was awesome in goal."

"We continue to get better in the clearing game. We had a little trouble in the third, and they made us pay, but we regrouped before the fourth and got that back together ."

"Antonio had a great day. We know he has the potential to dominate a game in transition and in attack. With Mark and Trent out, he really stepped up and showed how dominant he can be."

Up Next:
The Eagles, will get a full week to get healthy and to prepare for a home game against the No. 10 Dickinson College Red Devils next Saturday.