MANCHESTER, N.H. -- When Post University Men's Soccer faced Southern New Hampshire University early in the regular season at LaMoy Field, the result was a lopsided 7-0 loss for the young Eagles squad. But that was then and this was now for seventh-seeded Post against the second-seeded Penmen, who were ranked fifth in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches at the beginning of November, in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

After junior midfielder Markus Boe Tunge tied the match late in the first half, the two sides would reach a stalemate which resulted in penalty kicks. Sending the Eagles to their third consecutive Sweet Sixteen was graduate defender Santiago Palacios as he connected in the eighth round after graduate goalkeeper Ricardo Moreno made a stop to give Post the 7-6 win in penalty kicks. In the Sweet Sixteen, Post will have a rematch of the CACC Championship against Felician University, the sixth seed, who knocked off three-seeded Bloomsburg University on Sunday afternoon, 1-0. 

THE BASICS

#7 Post University 1 (7), #2 Southern New Hampshire University 1 (6) (Penalty Kicks) 

#7 Post University (13-5-4)

#2 Southern New Hampshire University (14-2-3)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
For much of the match, it was a defensive stalemate between both sides as Moreno and senior goalkeeper Preston Neal went toe-to-toe for 110 minutes with the latter making seven saves and the former stopping six shots. In a first half that saw the Penmen hold a narrow 8-6 advantage in shots overall and 4-3 edge in shots on goal, both teams would find the back of the net within a minute of each other as the first 45 minutes wound down. 

Junior midfielder Tyler Kraft got the Penmen on the board in the 40th minute as he found some space near the top of the box and used it to his advantage to beat Moreno inside the left post, but the lead would be short-lived. Soon after the restart, freshman midfielder Fabian Ernst looked to cross a ball towards the middle which went off a Southern New Hampshire defender and to Boe Tunge with space as the junior beat Neal with the shot only 38 seconds later to tie the match at one all.

A critical point in the match would come in the 72nd minute as junior midfielder Alejo Caceres picked up a red card, putting the Penmen down a man the rest of the way after Caceres kicked Palacios as the defender was stepping over him following a yellow card that he was issued on the play. Only three strong scoring opportunities would come in total for either side over the course of the 65 minutes leading up to the penalty kicks as Moreno made a save up high against graduate forward Martin Fuentes in the 66th minute. Then in the final seconds of the second half, Boe Tunge's shot on Neal would be stopped to send the game to extra time.

The third and final opportunity for either side would come from a corner kick by the Penmen in which graduate defender Liam Evans pushed a shot over top of the goal mouth at the end of the first 10-minute sudden-death session before the second session continued without any scoring chances. After four rounds of made penalty kicks, graduate midfielder Dani Gonzalez missed off the crossbar which gave Boe Tunge a chance to win it for Post but his shot would be stopped by Neal to his right.

Two more rounds would come and go with both sides beating the goalkeepers, tying the penalty kicks at six all before Moreno stopped a shot by graduate midfielder Matteo Paron giving Post another opportunity to end the match. Not missing the chance this time was Palacios who got Neal to dive to his right while he went left to give the Eagles the 7-6 victory in penalty kicks and their third straight trip to the Sweet Sixteen. 

BY THE NUMBERS 

• Ricardo Moreno tied his season-high in saves with seven on the day -- Moreno also had seven saves in the 1-1 tie against Felician University in the regular season 
• In the all-time series, this was the first time that Post University and Southern New Hampshire University went to penalty kicks and the third time they went at least to overtime, all of which have come on the road against the Penmen -- The Eagles lost one of the two matchups that went to extra time heading into the day while tying the other
• Post University advances to their fourth Sweet Sixteen in program history and third consecutive starting back in 2022 -- The Eagles have faced Franklin Pierce University twice and the University of Charleston once in that round
• This is the second straight season in which Post University has gone to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament and won in penalty kicks -- Last season, the Eagles knocked off five-seeded West Chester University at LaMoy Field, 2-1, in penalty kicks to advance to the Sweet Sixteen 

WHO'S NEXT 
Post University will face sixth-seeded Felician University for the third time this season after the two teams tied at LaMoy Field, 1-1, in the regular season before meeting again in the CACC Championship Match where the Golden Falcons came out on top 1-0 to snap a streak of five years in which the Eagles had won the CACC title. In the all-time series, Post is 13-9-1 against Felician and is 3-1-2 in their last six head-to-head matchups.