Having dealt with a rash of injuries early in the season, No. 1 McDonogh boys lacrosse lost as many games as it won entering Tuesday’s matchup against Pennsylvania power Haverford, the final tune-up before conference play starts Friday.

So when the Eagles left their home field with a complete 11-7 win over the Fords, there was a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction as they start their quest to win an unprecedented fourth straight Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship.

McDonogh was across-the-board sturdy Tuesday to take a 4-3 record into Friday’s conference opener at St. Paul’s. Hunter Metz (four goals), Brendan Millon (three goals, one assists) and Bogue Hahn (three goals) powered the attack, junior faceoff specialist Ciaran Sweeney was indeed special, and freshman goalie Weston Guerra — filling in for injured standout senior Aidan Seibel — made timely stops in finishing with seven saves.

“I thought it was our most complete effort so far,” said Hahn, who scored two consecutive fourth-quarter goals to help the Eagles pull away. “Defensively, it was one of our best games. The offense was clicking and we did well in the middle of the field with ground balls. We were looking to really get going with St. Paul’s coming up on Friday, so I’m really happy about the effort.”

McDonogh coach Andy Hilgartner was most pleased with the response to a frustrating start to the third quarter. The Eagles’ 5-2 halftime lead was whittled down to 6-5 with 2:51 to play in the third period, but Sweeney dug in to win a key faceoff, and swift ball movement on the ensuing possession led to Brett Feldmaier finding a cutting Millon, who buried the chance to provide a two-goal lead.

The momentum carried into the fourth quarter as the Eagles successfully regrouped. After a big save from Guerra with 10:16 left, Hahn scored two goals a little more than one minute apart to make it 9-5.

“I got my hands free and I don’t really think about it,” Hahn said. “I just look for a spot on the goal where I see white and shoot it in that area.”

The Eagles were never threatened the rest of the game.

“I was super proud of our guys in the third quarter after we failed four clears in a row, or whatever it was, then had a couple bad breaks and they scored a couple on us,” Hilgartner said. “But we responded very well and got some key goals, which was huge. It’s a good thing for us — to get punched in the face a bit and to be able to reply.”

Hilgartner’s message to the team after the resilient win was to get good rest, hydrate and prepare for the start of league play. Seibel, an All-Metro first-team pick last season, is expected back soon, possibly on Friday.

“It is all about Friday, which is why we schedule the out-of-conference games that we do against these great programs like Haverford,” Hilgartner said. “We’re trying to prepare ourselves for St. Paul’s and for the rest of the MIAA. This was definitely our most complete effort.”

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Haverford: 1-1-3-2 — 7

McDonogh: 2-3-2-4 — 11

Goals: H — Morsell 2, Burnetta 2, Large, Childs, Esposito; M — Metz 4, Millon 3, Hahn 3, Fournier

Assists: H — Burnetta; M — Feldmaier 2, Schaller, Goodman, Millon

Saves: H — Decker 9; M — Guerra 7