LIVONIA, Mich. – Toledo nearly rallied from a 3-0 deficit at Eastern Michigan on Thursday afternoon but came up just short in a 3-2 setback to the Eagles at the St. Joe's Sports Dome in Livonia, Mich.

"We played hard today and bounced back in the second half against a very good EMU team," said Head Coach TJ Buchholz. "We had nine shots in the first half and generated good scoring opportunities. I told the team at the half that something will break for us in the second half and we will get a goal back."

Sophomore Brooke Stonehouse did just that with 27:23 remaining by converting a penalty kick following an Eagle handball in the 18-yard box. Junior Anita Mancini then made it one-goal game with 14:58 to play when she took a pass from junior Ashton Cassel and put it past EMU's goalkeeper.

The Rockets generated a few more scoring chances in the final minutes but couldn't net the equalizer.

EMU took a 2-0 lead less than 20 minutes into the game on a pair of goals from Sabrina McNeil. The Eagles' Amanda Cripps added another goal at the 57:37 mark.

Toledo outshot EMU by a 16-9 margin and controlled play by maintaining possession for 57.0 percent of the contest.

"Our team is young right now and is making progress," said Buchholz about his team that played without  a pair of starters, senior Sophia Lewis and junior Betsy Lueck. "If we continue to keep working hard and get some players back from injury, we're going to get the results we're looking for."

Toledo is back in action on Sunday, March 21 at 2:00 p.m. when it travels to Kalamazoo, Mich. to face Western Michigan.