DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Eastern Connecticut State University men's lacrosse team never led after scoring the first goal of the match and a fourth-quarter rally fell short in a 10-9 Little East Conference loss to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Wednesday evening.

Trailing by four goals two minutes into the fourth quarter, Eastern (4-6, 2-2 Little East) scored four of the final five goals and trailed by only one after junior midfielder Liam Murphy (Dover, NH) scored twice in less than two minutes to make it 10-9 with just under three minutes left.

In the final minutes, Eastern forced two turnovers and held UMass Dartmouth (6-7, 2-2 Little East) without a shot, but on their final four shots, three sailed wide and one was saved by UMD sophomore goalie Matt Lafond. A turnover with 22 seconds left gave Eastern its final possession, but a final attempt at the net as time expired went wide.

The loss follows Saturday's 12-7 setback at defending champion Keene State College and gives Eastern two conference losses for only the second time in 15 years of conference play. In 2011, the Warriors also lost consecutively to Keene and UMass Dartmouth on the road, the loss to UMD also by a 10-9 margin.

Eastern sophomore midfielder Jesse Schulze (Croton-on-Hudson, NY) won a season-high 13 faceoffs (on 23 attempts), and won eight ground balls. Junior goalie Blake Smaldone (Hamilton, MA) made nine saves, Lafond 13.

The setback is Eastern's sixth in seven road games. The Corsairs have won three in a row since losing five straight.

Eastern hosts Salem State University in a conference match Saturday at 1 p.m.