WATERBURY, Conn. – Defense. It has been the name of the game for Post University Men's Lacrosse over the past several games and is slowly morphing into the team's identity. The Eagles have started to show that even when they cannot have their way offensively, they can still find a way to create on defense and give their team an opportunity to score the other way.
On Tuesday, that identity was what was on full display for Post as their shutout streak continued for almost a fifth straight quarter to open up their matchup against the University of Hartford, before closing out a scrappy 9-5 win, propelling over .500 for the first time this season.
THE BASICS
Post University 9, University of Hartford 5
Post University (4-3)
University of Hartford (2-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The entire first quarter would nearly come and go without a goal from either side until senior midfielder Noah Piette broke the stalemate with 40 seconds left, beating sophomore goalie Andrew Leibold on the pass from junior long-stick midfielder James Sproul. Out of a timeout just moments later, graduate midfielder Jake Ojert tied things up at one with 10 seconds remaining, weaving around the Post defense before beating senior goalie Cole George with the equalizer.
But the second quarter would be all Eagles as they held the Hawks off the scoreboard while junior midfielder Tim Keefe and the first member of the 100 Goal Club in senior attacker Dylan Heald accounted for all three of Post's goals in the frame to send them into the half with a 4-1 lead. Keefe would open the third with his third goal of the game, registering a hat trick for the second straight game and giving the Eagles their largest lead up to that point, 5-1.
However, Hartford did not go quietly as back-to-back goals from junior attacker Griffin Weller and senior midfielder Justin Pezzolesi cut the Post lead down to two, 5-3. That was when a 4-0 run in the third helped the Eagles pull away for good as Piette and Keefe added one more each around a pair of goals from senior midfielder Hayden Hindman to make it a 9-3 game entering the fourth.
A scoreless fourth for Post led to the defense needing to take over after an early goal by Heald was waved off due to a shot clock violation just before the shot. Ojert and Pezzolesi each scored only 1:05 apart from each other bringing the Hawks' deficit down to four, 9-5, before the Eagle defense hunkered down for the victory.
In net, George made 18 saves on 23 shots while his counterpart in Leibold stopped 18 of 27 shots taken by Post. In the last three games which have seen George play 165 minutes, the senior has allowed only 12 total goals in that span while making 39 saves which has boosted his save percentage to .619 for the year.
Defensively, the Eagles were led by Heald who had eight of Post's 41 ground balls while Sproul led the team with three caused turnovers. 13 different players for Post had at least one ground ball and six had four or more including Heald and Sproul. Also in that category were sophomore attacker Ryan Denike, senior midfielder Jack Longmore, senior defender Nolan Carfagna, and Keefe who each had four. Once again, Keefe led the team in total points with five after scoring four times and assisting on a goal.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Tim Keefe has been red hot, adding on four more goals today along with another assist – Keefe is first on the team with 36 points, leads the team with 18 assists, and is second in goals with 18 behind Robbie McGrayne who has 23 on the season
- After last game, Jaxon Holden became the new all-time leader in faceoff wins, surpassing Chris Cruz (2014-17) in less than two seasons who held the record with 199 – After going 8-for-18 on faceoffs today, Holden now has 209 career faceoff wins
- When Post University holds their opponent to under 10 goals in a game, they are now 4-1 this season
- Tuesday marked only the second time in program history in which Post University has not committed a penalty in the entire game – The first time this was achieved was March 26th, 2014 against Molloy University at home
WHO'S NEXT
Post University will open up conference play on Saturday afternoon against Georgian Court University with the game currently scheduled to get underway at noon. Last year, the Lions went a perfect 7-0 in conference play during the regular season and have won six of their last seven matchup against the Eagles including the last two.
