COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind a 7-0 run during the first half, the Ursinus College men's lacrosse team cruised to a 12-5 victory over Eastern University on a rainy Wednesday evening from Patterson Field.
 

With the victory, Ursinus improved to 3-2 on the season while the Eagles fall to 1-3 to start the season. Junior Christopher Pucciarelli paced the Bears offense with six points behind three goals and three assists, while sophomore Harry Sweitzer added three goals. Senior Drake Kasoff and sophomore Chris Bryant each added two goals and an assist to round out the Bears offensive attack. Sophomore Nicholas Grahame and senior Chris Bryant each were credited with two caused turnovers, while senior Jeff Douglas finished with a team-high five ground balls.

 
Kasoff got the Bears on the board at the 12:21-mark as a pass from Pucciarelli skipped through two Eagle defenders before Kasoff's shot snuck in between the Eastern's goalkeeper to give Ursinus an early 1-0 lead. At the 7:53-mark, Kasoff received a pass from Bryant behind the net before wrapping around and finding the net for his second goal of the period. Moments later, senior Eddie Newman increased the Bears lead to 3-0 as he received an assist from Pucciarelli before finding the nylon for a goal. It marks as the fifth consecutive game Newman has scored a goal for the Bears. The Ursinus defense continued to play well over the remainder of the opening period as the Bears held a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

 
Ursinus carried the momentum into the second stanza as Pucciarelli and Sweitzer scored back-to-back goals to stretch the Bears lead to 5-0 with 12:25 remaining. Pucciarelli's first goal came as he spun past the first defender, dodged another, and sent a diving shot past the Eagles netminder. Pucciarelli and Bryant each tallied another goal, before Eastern got on the board with 6:06 remaining in the first half. Senior goalkeeper Jonathan Singer and the Bears defense stood tall throughout the second quarter as they denied three scoring opportunities from the Eagles before they broke through for their first goal. Eastern added their second goal with 1:17 remaining, but Ursinus still controlled a 7-2 lead entering the halftime break.

 
The third period started with each defense holding the opposition scoreless for nearly the first seven minutes of play until a goal from the Eagles at the 8:23-mark. With under three minutes remaining, Sweitzer tallied back-to-back goals to stretch the Ursinus lead to 9-3 at the end of the third period.  Sweitzer's first goal came off an assist from Pucciarelli while his second goal came after sprinting past the Eagles defense and sending a right-handed shot past the netminder. Bryant, Pucciarelli, and sophomore Barrett Denlinger each added goals in the final period leading Ursinus to a 12-5 victory.  
 

Each team totaled 38 shots with Ursinus holding a 30-23 advantage in ground balls, and the Eagles winning 12 of the 19 faceoffs. The Bears finished with a clear percentage of 76.9% (20-of-26) with Eastern collecting a clear percentage of 68.4% (13-of-19). Singer recorded the victory in goal behind eight saves, while Eastern's Ethan Myers was dealt the loss after tallying ten saves.
 

The Bears will return to action on Saturday, March 9^th as they travel to Rochester, New York for a non-conference matchup against No. 2 RIT at 1 p.m.