BIDDEFORD, Maine – The Husson University men's lacrosse team mounted a late push in the fourth quarter, but the University of New England held on to defeat the Eagles, 8–5, on Friday afternoon at Blue Bolt Field. 

UNE (3-4) struck early in the opening quarter, scoring three times to take a 3-0 lead. Stephen Fogarty opened the scoring midway through the period off an assist from Kyle Dunn before adding a second goal just seconds later. Preston Briggs capped the first-quarter surge with a goal with just over a minute remaining to give the Nor'easters the early advantage.

The Nor'easters extended their lead to four early in the second quarter when Declan Mulkerin found the back of the net at the 12:47 mark. Husson (3-2) responded later in the period as freshman Gabe Robinson finished off a feed from senior Kiernan Field with 6:38 remaining in the half to put the Eagles on the board and cut the deficit to 4-1 heading into halftime. 

Husson continued to battle back in the third quarter. Field scored unassisted at the 13:03 mark to trim the lead to two. After Briggs answered for UNE, Field struck again midway through the period to make it a 5-3 contest. However, Briggs completed his hat trick with a goal in the closing seconds of the third quarter, pushing the Nor'easters' advantage to 6-3 entering the final period.

UNE added two more goals in the fourth quarter from Brennan Chane and Eben Fagonde to extend the lead to 8-3 before the Eagles made one final push. Junior Owen Giorgio scored on a man-up opportunity with 1:54 remaining off an assist from sophomore Taylor Schwalje, and Field added his third goal of the game just 24 seconds later with a helper from sophomore Dominic Hollenkamp to close the gap to 8-5. 

Field led the Husson offense with three goals and an assist, while Robinson and Giorgio each added a goal. Schwalje and Hollenkamp recorded assists for the Eagles.

Defensively, senior goalkeeper Odin Burk made 16 saves for Husson while the Eagles collected 31 ground balls in the contest. Giorgio and Schwalje each finished with five ground balls to lead the team. 

Husson finished the game with 21 shots, including 13 on goal, while converting one of two extra-man opportunities. UNE held advantages in shots (46-21) and ground balls (43-31).

The Eagles are back in action on Wednesday when they head to Vermont State University Castleton for a 4 p.m. contest.