MANCHESTER, N.H. -- If there is any word to describe Post University Men Soccer in the early going of this season, it would be resilient. Trailing for the third consecutive game to start the season, the resilient 21st-nationally ranked Eagles battled back against Southern New Hampshire University on the road to earn a 2-2 tie against the 14th-ranked Penmen after trailing 2-0 less than 20 minutes into the first half. 

THE BASICS

#21 Post University 2, #14 Southern New Hampshire University 2 

#21 Post University (1-0-2)
#14 Southern New Hampshire University (2-0-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED
For the third straight game, it was the opposition getting on the scoreboard first as sophomore forward Iago Perez buried a shot past junior goalkeeper Soren Jensen to make it 1-0 after Jensen saved the initial shot taken by sophomore midfielder Alejo Caceres less than 10 minutes into the match. 

On an odd man rush down the pitch, it would once again be Perez serving up the second goal of the evening for the Penmen in the 18th minute as he took a pass from sophomore forward Philipp Herrmann after Jensen looked to stop him in his tracks. Perez lifted the ball towards the center of the net, rattling off the top of the crossbar before it fell straight down and seemingly out of the goal mouth. It would ultimately be ruled a goal for Southern New Hampshire, who saw their lead grow to 2-0. 

A physical first half results in three yellow cards being assessed between the two teams as the second half of the first 45 minutes wore on, with the Penmen taking two of those. Just before the end of the first half with about 45 seconds remaining on the clock, an Eagles corner kick would carom around in front of the net between sophomore forward Aritz Uriate before finding graduate midfielder Nick Anagnostiadis's foot for the first goal of the evening for Post, cutting their deficit to one goal heading into the half.

Applying heavy pressure in the second half, the Eagles controlled the tempo and the ball for a majority of the final 45 minutes while Jensen came up with three big saves to keep his team's deficit at just one goal. Once again, a ball caroming in the box would be the break that Post needed to knot the game up at two all as an initial shot by graduate forward Gentian Selimi was redirected to Uriate's foot before the sophomore fired it by graduate goalkeeper Jurgen Huber in the 83rd minute. 

Neither team would be able to threaten the other over the last seven minutes and change as the Eagles worked their second tie in three games and third come-from-behind match in as many games to force a 2-2 tie against the 14th-ranked Penmen. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Despite holding a 12-11 edge in shots, Post was outshot in shots on goal by a margin of 9-5
• Soren Jensen made seven saves on nine attempts in net for the Eagles 
• The Eagles held a slight edge, 8-5, in corner kicks with a dominant 6-2 margin in the second half 
• Post is now 1-0-2 when trailing first in a match and has scored the equalizer in the 80th minute or later twice (at AIC, at SNHU)

WHO'S NEXT
Post University comes home for the first time this season for their 2023 home opener on Sunday afternoon with a matchup against the NCAA DII Men's Soccer defending national champion and nationally-ranked number one Franklin Pierce University at 2:30 PM at LaMoy Field. The Ravens have won four consecutive matches against the Eagles in the head-to-head matchup while riding a 35-game streak in which they have not lost a match. 

The last time Franklin Pierce lost a match was back in 2021 against Stonehill College, a 1-0 loss on October 23rd. Prior to that loss, the Ravens had a 17-game winning streak dating back to the first game of the shortened three-game 2020 season, making them 51-1-2 since the begining of 2020.