WATERBURY, Conn. – On Wednesday afternoon at LaMoy Field, after the first 45 minutes of the CACC Semifinals it looked like Post University Men's Soccer was in trouble on their quest for a sixth consecutive CACC Championship. Facing fifth-seeded Wilmington University, not only were the Eagles trailing 2-0 after two goals in the first 10 minutes by the Wildcats, but CACC All-Conference First Team graduate midfielder Luca Dettoli was given a red card in the 40th minute forcing Post to play with only 10 players the rest of the way.

But even despite the odds being stacked against them and being outshot 21-8 in the match, the Eagles defied all odds to head back to the CACC Championship for the sixth straight season with three second-half goals, capped off by freshman midfielder Fabian Ernst's long rolling shot from 35 yards away, to win 3-2 and set up a date against three-seeded Felician University on Sunday morning at 10:00 AM.

THE BASICS

Post University 3, Wilmington University 2

Post University (12-4-3)

Wilmington University (8-10-2)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
The Wildcats wasted no time sticking it to the Eagles early on as freshman forward Michiharu Takanashi got them on the board first just seven minutes into the match. Off a free kick, sophomore defender Demario McCarthy worked the ball ahead to graduate midfielder Lenny Greifenberg who threaded Takanashi between a host of Post defenders where he would beat graduate goalkeeper Ricardo Moreno to his left side, giving Wilmington an early 1-0 edge. 

Using some nice back-and-forth passing on the offensive end, graduate forward Theo Faillon and junior midfielder Alex Tarway teamed up to get Tarway the second goal of the game for the Wildcats exactly three minutes later and only 9:30 into the contest, the Eagles already found themselves down 2-0. Making the deficit seem even more insurmountable would be the red card issued to Dettoli in the 40th minute for headbutting a Wilmington player bringing Post down to just 10 players for the remainder of the match.

However, coming out of the halftime break, Ernst would cut the deficit in half for the Eagles as he found space against sophomore goalkeeper Charlie Phillips with the help of graduate defender Santiago Palacios and junior midfielder Markus Boe Tunge for the score. Scoring in quick fashion like the Wildcats did in the first half, senior midfielder Diego Silva tied the game for Post only 5:01 later on a pair of volleyed passes from Ernst and sophomore forward Matheau Milagres making it a whole new game for both sides. 

But the teams would look destined for overtime with neither side having any real chances outside of one for freshman forward Stanley Ho in the 78th minute which Moreno was able to get a foot on and push out of harm's way. That would be until an unsuspecting ball from junior midfielder Lukas Glade reached freshman forward Marc Ballart on the right side of the pitch. Ballart would chip the ball ahead to Ernst in stride near midfield and with Phillips racing over 30 yards out of the goal mouth, the freshman simply needed to curl it around the oncoming keeper which he did for the long go-ahead score with under four minutes left in regulation.

In that final stretch of the match, the Wildcats would rip off four shots that did not reach Moreno in net and looking to redeem himself Phillips had open space to try scoring from about 25 yards out and lifted it over the crossbar and through the football uprights with under 30 seconds ago which sealed Wilmington's fate and lifted Post back to the CACC Championship, 3-2. 

BY THE NUMBERS 

• The last time Post University overcame a two-goal deficit to win a match came on November 4th, 2022 against Wilmington University also in the CACC Semifinals and also behind three second-half goals to advance to face Alliance University and eventually win their fourth straight CACC Championship
• This is the sixth consecutive year in which Post University has competed in the CACC Championship and the seventh time in the last eight years overall of competition 
• Entering the CACC Championship, Post University has won 17 consecutive CACC Tournament matches since 2018 en route to their five consecutive CACC Championships having last lost in the CACC Quarterfinals in 2017 to Goldey-Beacom College, 2-1, in what was an 8-9-0 season for the Eagles 
• Since 2015, Post University has won 14 consecutive CACC Tournament home matches with Sunday's CACC Quarterfinals home win over Jefferson having last lost in the CACC Semifinals to Bloomfield College, 1-0, on November 5th, 2015 

WHO'S NEXT 
Post University faces three-seeded Felician University for a chance at their sixth consecutive CACC Championship on Sunday morning at 10:00 PM down in Wilmington, Delaware. The Eagles have not lost to the Golden Falcons since the 2018 season and are 3-0-2 in their five meetings since then which includes a pair of 1-1 ties in each of the last two seasons.