ST. DAVIDS, Pa.— Eastern University Men's Lacrosse celebrated the program's 16 seniors before the match, but the Eagles came up on the short end a 16-8 score in a critical MAC Commonwealth test against the visiting Messiah University Falcons. Benjamin Souder won 18-of-24 faceoffs and grabbed 12 more ground balls, but Messiah Goalie Jourdain Algarin made 15 stops to neutralize Eastern's edge in possession. 

The Eagles had a 25-18 edge in first-half shots, but the Falcons scored the first two goals of the second quarter and held that two-goal edge to halftime. Frankie Fanelli scored three times and had an assist , but the Eagles still trailed 7-5 at the break. Brett Gougler and Gavin Stark also had goals. 

When Gougler scored the first goal of the second half, it looked like the game might turn into a classic. That, unfortunately for the Eagles, did not happen. Even with Souder dominating the faceoff dot, Messiah scored six-straight times to build a 13-6 lead with 12 minutes left int he game. Fanelli set up a Gougler for a man-up strike to stop the run, but with the penalty running down, Messiah's Bobby Berg outran a double-team and slammed in his 30th of the year to neutralize any progress. 

Brennan Kaut scored Eastern's final goal. 

The Eagles will host Albright on Wednesday before traveling to Hood to finish the regular. The Eagles (3-12, 2-3) could qualify for th MAC Commonwealth Championships with wins in their final two games.