ST. DAVIDS, – On the final day of the regular season, Eastern University Men's Lacrosse handed the visiting DeSales University Bulldogs their first loss of the year. Eight different Eastern players scored goals as the Eagles pulled away to a 10-7 win. Zach Bauer won 13-of-14 face-offs and Chris Durning collected 13 ground balls in the win.

How It Happened:
The Bulldogs erased a 6-2 third-quarter lead with a 5-to-1 run spanning the last five minutes of the third and the first minute of the fourth. The Eagles (11-6, 7-0 MAC Freedom) took advantage of two extra-man opportunities for a pair of of fourth quarter tallies. The Bulldogs tied the game on an unassisted goal from Matt Motto with 14:14 to play in the game. The Eagles scored the final three goals of the game.

Colin Piper, who finished the game with two goals and two assists, scored a man-up goal from Sean Fechter to put the Eagles back up two minutes later. The game remained at 8-7 for nearly seven minutes of game time. The Eagles finally doubled the lead on a Trent Ashton goal with the possession clock winding down. Mark Buannic dodged his way toward the crease and flipped a late pass to Ashton who put it away as he took a big hit that would result in an extra-man chance.

Piper scored the final goal of the the game on a ground ball after a Buannic shot.

Though the Eagles won the first two face-offs of the game, the Bulldogs (15-1, 6-1 MAC Freedom) scored the first two goals. The guests scored twice in a 75-second span midway through the first period. The damage could have been worse as the Bulldogs picked up an extra-man opportunity and possession after the second goal. The Eastern man-down group did its work and the game stabilized.

Piper found Drew Johnson for a quick shot from the right side to cut the Bulldog lead in half with a minute to play in the first period. The Eagles controlled possession in the second period and scored the only three goals of the frame to take a 4-2 lead to halftime. Eastern had a 13-4 edge in second period shots. Kyle Fanelli scored from Trent Ashton to start the period. Fechter scored on a low-to-low shot midway through the period and Antonio Yeoman ripped in his 20th of the year with 10 seconds left in the half for a 4-2 edge.

The Eagles won all six-first half face-offs.

Ethan Joseph scored his first of the year on a transition feed from Piper to put the Eagles up 5-2 just 79 seconds into the half. Less than two minutes later, Sam Emig took advantage of another man-up chance. The sophomore midfielder picked up a rebound goal after Fechter hit the underside of the crossbar.  The Bulldogs put three goals on the board in quick succession to pull within a goal before Ashton scored on a dive play with 4:44 on the clock.

Brett McDonald made nine saves in the win, and Cole Millard and Kyran Baker each caused three turnovers. Eastern went 4-of-6 on extra-man chances while the Bulldogs were only able to capitalize on only one of their six chances.

Coach Wallace Says:
"Our special teams were good all day and we were able to win the battle at the X. Zach Bauer was really good, but Durning was a ground ball machine. I told the guys earlier in the week that we have been getting better and knowing who we are. Our defense set the tone and we were able to finish some opportunities. Our offensive guys were patient and except for that stretch in the third, we were able to control the tempo."

"We are happy to have the opportunity to host the tournament on campus. It was a great environment for a game today. We understand that to host next Saturday we have to win on Wednesday."

Up Next:
The Eagles will host the Wilkes University Colonels in the first round of the MAC Freedom Tournament on Wednesday at 4:00 pm. The Colonels won their way in with a 13-5 home win over FDU-Florham. Eastern beat Wilkes 10-9 in overtime in early April.