On the Road to MAC Freedom Championship: There are small steps towards victory for our men’s lacrosse team.

      The Men’s Lacrosse team has just finished the last round of non-league games and will head into the Freedom Conference games beginning this week. Teams in the line up are Manhattanville College, Misericordia University, Wilkes University, King’s College, Delaware Valley University, among others. Their past couple of games played have been against the some of the top teams such as Dickinson College, Gettysburg College, Ursinus College. Within the past two weeks, they competed against Widener University, Messiah College, and Dickinson College.

      The home game against Widener on March 20 was a win for the Eagles. One of the key players who made a difference throughout the entire game was goalie, Brett McDonald. McDonald’s saves kept Eastern with a solid lead during the game. Mark Buannic, number 50, and Trent Ashton, number 28, helped keep the lead with their buried shots in goal. Widener picked up their pace in the second half of the game with almost tieing in the fourth quarter. Buannic was able to give the team an ease of mind with a two goal cushion for the Eagles. The final score was 12 to 9, Eastern.

      Three days later, the Eagles competed against Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. This was a great game for the Eagles, especially for a few first year players. Antonio Yeoman, number 6, and Anthony Firmani, number 11, were on fire during their playing time. Buannic and Ashton were not seen on the field as they were resting from injuries earned in the previous game against Widener. However, Yeoman stepped up to the plate, scoring a total of six goals. If it was not for Firmani’s 16 out of 23 face off wins, the team may have had more of a difficult time. The Eagles stepped up their game and were not ready to back down with a 13 to 9 win.

      The most recent home game against #10, Dickinson College, on March 30, was a challenge for the Eagles. One of their top scores, Buannic, was still benched from his injuries. By the end of the second quarter, Dickinson was leading by 7 points, creating a stretch that the Eagles would not be able to break for the rest of the game. Offensively, Dickinson knew how to pick corners of the goal. One of the highlights of the game was Kyle Fanelli’s blind shot to the goal, making it his first goal of the year.

      The Eagles will be playing Manhattanville College on April 4 at 4p.m. Come fill the hill and support your Men’s Lacrosse team.