ALLENTOWN, Pa.— Eastern University Men's Lacrosse fell behind early and could not recover in a 21-11 away loss at Muhlenberg College. The host Mules (1-2) scored seven times in the closing seven minutes of the opening quarter to build an 8-2 lead. Brett Gougler posted six goals for the Eastern attack.

The Eagles (1-4) leveled the score on a man-up goal from Gougler with 8:53 on the clock, but three straight Eastern turnovers turned into Muhlenberg goals. The Mules then secured a faceoff win and scored for a 5-1 lead.

After Gougler scored from Gavin Stark, they had two possessions to try to close the gap further but a wide shot not backed and a turnover gave the ball back to the hosts. Muhlenberg grabbed firm control of the game with three goals in the final 85 seconds of the quarter.

While the rest of the game was fairly even in terms of shots and possession, Muhlenberg got 18 saves from their goalies and never let the Eagles put up a three-goal run.

Ben Souder won 18-of-30 faceoffs and secured 11 ground balls. Duncan Starmer scored twice and Stark, Frankie Fanelli, and Brett Williamson each scored once.

The Eagles will host Arcadia next Saturday.