PROVIDENCE, R.I. --  Three days after a monumental comeback produced a come-from-behind win, a monumental collapse  led to Eastern Connecticut State University's 13-11 non-conference men's lacrosse loss.

After erasing an early 4-1 lead Sunday in a non-conference win at Farmingdale State College, Eastern (2-2) fell prey to a major comeback when Johnson & Wales University (3-1) climbed out of a 6-0 hole, later scoring seven consecutive goals in a span of eight minutes in the fourth quarter for a stunning victory Wednesday afternoon at Scotts Miracle-Grow Stadium.

The Wildcats started very slowly but finished very fast, failing to score on just two shots in the first quarter but recovering for seven goals in the fourth quarter on 13 shots in coming up on the long end of the first match in this series. Johnson & Wales is in its fourth season on the intercollegiate level.

Although Johnson & Wales was able to whittle a six-goal deficit midway through the third quarter to three on Max Stone's second goal of the third quarter just 19 seconds before the bell, senior attack Shawn Tierney's (Norwell, MA) first goal of the match on an assist from junior attack Matthew Rougeot (Cheshire) put the Warriors in charge of a 10-6 lead heading into the final 13 minutes.

From there, it was all Wildcats.

It took the hosts only two minutes to pull even for the first time, 10-10, when they got goals from four different players. Stone's unassisted goal – his third of the game – pushed the Wildcats in front, 11-10, with just under nine minutes left and strikes from Eric Russo and Thomas Lyons made it 13-10 with five minutes left. Eastern freshman attack Samuel Watson's (Trumbull) third goal of the day – his second hat trick in as many games – finally halted the Wildcats' seven-goal run, but was anti-climactic, coming inside the final 15 seconds.

Johnson & Wales freshman goalie Bradley Morris made 22 saves – 14 in the first half when he faced a 6-2 halftime deficit  -- while Eastern junior Chris Gorman (Shrewsbury, MA) stopped nine shots.

Watson complemented his three goals with an assist, junior midfielder Harrison Urda (Milford, NH) adding two goals and two assists and Rougeot two goals and an assist. Each of that threesome contributed two goals when the Warriors raced to its 6-0 lead 20 minutes into action.

First-year junior transfer Tom Gallagher (Southington) recorded his first career goal at Eastern -- after scoring one goal in two years at Franklin Pierce University -- to open the second half. 

With the exception of the final score, Eastern held advantages in every significant category, including shots (47-33), ground balls (34-31), faceoffs won (15-13), man-up goals (1-0) and fewest turnovers (12-15).

Eastern faces SUNY Plattsburgh in its fifth straight road contest Saturday at 1 p.m. at Miller Place (NY) High School. The Cardinals received votes in the most recent USILA Division III rankings.