Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 34/1/26
From Press Release
While Eastern University Men’s Lacrosse opened its MAC Commonwealth season Wednesday with a convincing 18-10 win at Widener, that result was far from a sure thing.
The Eagles trailed 7-3 and seemed to be reeling before scoring 15 of the final 18 goals of the match to claim control of the Blue Route for the sixth consecutive time since joining the MAC Commonwealth.
Benjamin Souder (Pennridge) won 24-of-29 at the faceoff-X to help the Eagles to string goals together through the final three periods. Led by Gavin Stark with three goals and two assists, 10 different Eastern players scored goals.
Eastern led 2-0 early before the Pride grabbed a 3-2 lead. Andrew Collins (Northwestern Lehigh) tucked home a man-up goal from in close on a well-designed play and good feed from Frankie Fanelli (Pennridge).
Then things went sideways for a bit. The Eagles went down two players on coincidental offside penalties. The four poles put the ball on the ground twice, but Widener took the 4-3 lead just as the two players left the box. The Eagles then put together a solid defensive set that ended in a routine save, but a failed clear turned into another goal. Widener scored the first two goals of the second quarter and seemed to be rolling.
The Eagles then failed a man-up chance and had another long possession that seemed to be struggling. With he clock running down, Stark picked up a ball at goal line extended and worked toward the goal. With his defender turning him away from goal, the junior left-hander whipped a no-look effort into the upper corner to start the Eastern run.
With Benjamin Souder winning faceoffs, the Eagles started to stack goals. Levi Souder (Pennridge), Joshua Jordan (Middletown-DE), and Brennan Kaut (Penncrest) scored in a two-and-a-half minute stretch to tie the game with six minutes left in the half.
Though the Eagles did not take the lead until Stark put them with a man-up goal from Brett Gougler (Springfield-Delco) with two minutes on the clock, the momentum of the game had changed for good.
The Eagles owned the third period. Levi Souder, Jordan, Fanelli, and Jackson Foley (Archbishop Wood) each scored before the Pride finally scratched a goal in the final seconds of the frame. Five different Eagles scored six goals in the first eight minutes of the fourth period to put Eastern up 18-9. The Pride put in a man-up goal with one second to play for the final score.
Brennan Kirn (Hatboro-Horsham) finished with 10 saves to earn the win in goal
While Eagles (2-9, 1-0) are hoping this start to the league season will give them a fresh start after battling several Nationally-Ranked Squads through the non-conference schedule. The Eagles, however, will still have another test against a Nationally Ranked opponent when they are at York College next week.
Samuel Haverstrom led the Pride with five goals for a season high. In goal, Colyn Schmitz had a season high 16 saves.
