GALLOWAY, N.J.– A slow start undid Eastern University Men's Lacrosse as they dropped a 20-13 decision at Stockton. The Osprey jumped to an 11-2 second-quarter lead and held a 14-5 edge at halftime.
Ethan Myers made 18 saves in goal, but it was not enough as the high-powered Stockton offense ripped 68 shots on the night.
Coming into the contest, Head Coach
Kevin Wallace knew the Eagles would need to win faceoffs and finish chances to match the Stockton offense. Myers made seven first-quarter saves, but the Eagles trailed early as the Ospreys won 7-of-11 faceoffs and forced three Eastern turnovers in the opening period.
Gavin Stark scored in the second minute, but the was a lone bright spot in an opening stretch that saw the hosts lead 6-1 before the mid-point of the opening period. Nick Litenberger scored from
Avery Porter to close the gap to 6-2, but Stockton scored twice more before the end of the first and put away the opening three tallies of the second quarter for a nine-goal edge. Stark,
Jared Hoerter, and
Nicholas Fanelli scored in the second, but the Eagles still trailed 14-5 at the intermission.
The Ospreys scored the opening goal of the second half, but
Patrick McClain answered within seconds and
Connor Bachman added on. The Eagles pulled with six on a Stark's third goal with 5:20 to play and had the ball with a chance to close further. After earning a ground ball and getting to the edge of the crease,
Dominic Marangoni had a shot blocked at the doorstep, and the Ospreys scored in transition.
McClain answered that goal with his second of the day and the Eagles won the next faceoff, but a skip pass to an open
Christopher Fanelli sailed high the Eagles chance at a big run fell short. McClain won 16-of-28 draws and had 10 ground balls and no turnovers.
Nicholas Fanelli scored the final goal of the game. With his four-point day, the senior moved into third on Eastern's all-time list with 198 career points. He passed Chris Farrar '13 who finished with 99 goals and 98 assists. Grant Ferguson holds the Eastern record with 254 points and his classmate David Darling had 221.
The Eagles return to Olson Field for another tough test when they host No. 17 Cabrini on Saturday at 1:00 pm.
