Waterbury, CT – Leighton Cooke scored a career-high six goals as the Post University men's lacrosse team opened up Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) play with a 15-6 win over the University of Bridgeport on Sunday afternoon at LaMoy Field.
The Eagles have now won three of their last four games and are 5-3 overall and 1-0 in the CACC. The Purple Knights are now 1-6 overall and 0-1 in the CACC.
The two teams exchanged the first six goals of the game as Bridgeport led on three different occasions, all of which were responded with a goal from the Eagles. After falling behind 1-0, Dylan Heald ran around the net and took a low shot past Bridgeport goalkeeper, Pater Nazario to tie the game at 9:53.
Bridgeport took a 2-1 lead at 7:34, but Braedan Lockyer tied it again just 29 seconds later, on a shot from 15 yards out to tie it for the second time. The Purple Knights took the lead one more time at 5:23, but Tim Keefe tied the game for the last time, ripping a shot over the right shoulder of Nazario to tie the game. Post would then take its first and only lead of the game at 1:15 when Heald took a pass from Ryan Denike who was just to the side of the net and Heald took a point-blank shot to make it a 4-3 game.
Post built its lead in the second quarter, scoring the first two goals of the period as Denike scored his first of the game taking a jump pass from Lockyer and scoring before getting knocked over to put Post up two. Cooke then started his scoring run firing a shot with a defender on him, putting Post up 6-3. After conceding one goal Keefe scored his second of the game, sprinting 15 yards before giving Post a 7-4 lead.
Zack Gignac scored his second goal of the season – on a man up - and Cooke added his second of the game 37 seconds later giving post a 9-4 lead into the half.
The Eagles held Bridgeport scoreless in the third as Cooke scored two more, including one on a pass from Heald.
Post was never threatened in the fourth as Heald scored his third of the game just 44 seconds into the period, while Denike scored his second and Cooke scored two more.
The six goals were a career-high for Cooke. His previous high was two goals, twice. He now has 13 goals on the season. Heald had his fifth game of the season with three goals or more, and finished with five points on the day. He has 25 goals on the season, leading the CACC. Keefe had two goals and two assists.
Cole George got the win in goal, stopping nine shots. Jaxon Holden won 12 of 23 faceoffs and had six groundballs to lead the Eagles, who had 38 as a team. Keefe and Cooke each had four groundballs.
Nazario had 20 saves for Bridgeport. Tyne Hewlette had a hat trick for the Purple Knights.
Up next, the Eagles head to Georgian Court to take on the Lions on Saturday, April 1 at 11 a.m.
