Box Score ST. DAVIDS, Pa.—In the MAC Commonweealth opener for both teams, Eastern University Women's Lacrosse battled back from an early six-goal deficit to lead the visiting Albright College Lions 13-12 late in the third quarter. The Lions took advantage of a strong finish at the draw and on the ride to score seven of the final eight goals of the contest and emerge with a 19-4 win. Gracie Horton finished with three goals and three assists, Amira Solomon scored four times, and Morgan Wallace and Natalia Willoughby each added hat tricks as the Eagles scored 14 in a league game for the first time in MAC Commonwealth play. 

Wallace and Willoughby found the back of the net early. Albright, however countered with seven unanswered goals. Several of those goals off an aggressive ride from the guests. The Eagles found success on only one of their first five clears, and the Lions led 9-3 in final seconds of the first quarter.

Down six, the Eagles needed a draw, and Willoughby won the battle. With the clock running down, Wallace missed on a high shot, but after her squad backed up the miss, the sophomore found the back of the net with less than three seconds left in the quarter. 

With a little momentum built, and some strategic changes in the clear, the Eagles stormed back. In the first four minutes of the second quarter, Horton scored on a pair of free position attempts and Solomon buried another. Willoughby closed the gap to one on a nice catch-and-shoot-effort in the fan off a slick feed from Wallace. Twenty-five seconds later, Wallace tied the game with a free-position goal.

During the rally, the Eagles had to extend themselves physically, and that exertion seemed to take its toll late. Albright capitalized on a pair of turnovers to build an 11-9 lead at the half. 

With some time to recover, Eastern scored four of the first five goals after halftime. Solomon's career-best fourth goal gave the Eagles a 13-12 lead with less than six minutes to play. 

That lead did not last as Albright super-senior Kayte Moist answered within thirty seconds with her 44th goal of the season. At 13-13, the two teams traded blows. Both team's goalkeepers made big stops as the action went end-to-end. Moist finally broke the deadlock on a free-position shot in the final minute of the third. 

Though Ava Weiman scored off a pass from Horton with six minutes left, the Lions (5-6, 1-0) held a huge edge possession in the fourth. Albright spent nearly the entire frame up a player after consecutive cards. With Willoughby out for the finish, Albright had a 6-1 edge in draw controls down the stretch. Willoughby and Wallace each had six draw controls to lead the Eagles in the game. 

"We are taking some big steps forward." Head Coach Mikala Gillespie said after the game. "It was tough that we did not have an answer late, but we fought throughout and were right there through three quarters."

Goalie Natasha Chaillou tied a career-high with ten stops.

Eastern (2-6, 0-1) will host the Stevenson University Mustangs on Saturday.