WATERBURY, Conn. – The scenario for Post University Men's Lacrosse was simple on Saturday. If they win against Wilmington University, they guarantee themselves not only a spot in the CACC Tournament, but also a home game in the playoffs as well. While the Eagles did not own the tiebreaker against Georgian Court University or Chestnut Hill College, a little bit of help could even get them into the third spot in the conference.
But after leading for much of the game, a 6-0 run by the Wildcats to end the fourth would end up being the difference maker as a one-goal lead turned into a five-goal loss, 15-10, for the Eagles. With the loss, the final two seeds are still up for grabs as Caldwell takes on Felician later tonight as does Bridgeport against Dominican (N.Y.).
Post currently holds a one-game lead and the tiebreaker for head-to-head over the Purple Knights but has yet to play Caldwell. This means there is still a lot to be decided over the next several hours and on Wednesday afternoon when the Eagles head to play the Cougars on the road.
THE BASICS
Post University 10, Wilmington University 15
Post University (8-7, 4-3 CACC)
Wilmington University (9-3, 8-0 CACC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Another low-scoring affair for the Eagles against the top team in the conference saw both teams with nearly identical numbers by halftime, but it was Post with the slight two-goal edge, 5-3, on their Senior Day. Following a number of tremendous saves by both senior goalie Cole George and freshman goalie Daniel Flynn in the first quarter, senior midfielder Noah Piette and senior attacker Dylan Heald broke the scoreless game in the final two minutes to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
In the waning seconds of the first, senior attacker Logan Stinson answered back to cut the Wildcats' deficit in half after the first 15 minutes, 2-1. But Post never trailed in the first half as junior midfielder Tim Keefe opened the second quarter scoring and after sophomore midfielder Tyler Quinn and freshman midfielder Johs Weston tied it up at three-all, the Eagle offense ended the second much like they ended the first, with two straight goals.
It was junior attacker Robbie McGrayne and Piette for the second time in the half doing the damage for Post in a half that saw both sides with 5-of-10 faceoffs, only one penalty for the Eagles which was killed off, eight saves for both goalies, and 13 turnovers by each team. Post held a slight 24-16 edge in overall shots as well as a 9-for-11 performance on clears compared to 10-for-16 for Wilmington.
To open up the second half, Stinson would cut down the Post lead to one goal yet again with his man-up goal just over 1:30 into the half before Keefe answered back 58 seconds later to give the Eagles the boost they needed to regain the two-goal lead. But as it had been most of the game, no lead was too safe for Post and Wilmington showed why as they answered back with two goals of their own from senior attacker Miles Crouse and Stinson's second to that point, tying it up at seven.
Keefe and Stinson would exchange goals once more to make it an 8-8 game in the early stages of the fourth before it was the junior's turn to share scores with graduate midfielder TJ Caton which kept the game tied. But a Heald goal with 12:04 left in regulation would be the last time the Eagles had the lead at 10-9, before a backbreaking run by the Wildcats who showed why they were the top team in the conference.
Six unanswered goals over the final 10:53 of regulation, including two more from Stinson to add to his six overall on the day, two more from Caton, and one each from Crouse and Weston flipped that one-goal lead into a five-goal loss for the Eagles who dropped their second straight conference game, 15-10, sliding to 4-3 in conference play with one game remaining.
After having been outshot 24-16 after the first half, Wilmington turned it on in the second half with 25 shots compared to just 12 for Post. But the biggest difference was the discipline of the Wildcats who held the Eagles to only two extra-man opportunities in which they were successful on one of them. In the fourth quarter alone, Post allowed Wilmington to get on the man-up advantage four times and they would make the most of it with three goals, leading to a 4-for-8 day overall in that situation. This came after the Eagles were called for just one penalty in the first half.
BY THE NUMBERS
- James Sproul finished the game with five caused turnovers which tied him for the most single-game caused turnovers in program history with seven other players, including himself against AIC last year
- Tim Keefe now has eight hat tricks this season after scoring a team-high four goals and adding one assist for a total of five points – This is the second straight game Keefe has recorded a hat trick marking the fourth time this season he has done that in back-to-back games
- As a team, Post University committed 22 turnovers which is the fifth time this season they have committed 20-plus in a game – The Eagles are 3-2 this season when committing more than 20 turnovers
- Post University has now lost five straight games against Wilmington University since the 2019 season – The Eagles won their first matchup against the Wildcats, 9-5, at home on April 8th, 2018
WHO'S NEXT
Post University ends its regular season with a conference matchup against Caldwell University on the road this Wednesday at 4:00 PM. After dropping the first two games of the all-time series which were back in 2021, the Eagles have won each of the last two in 2022 and 2023, 12-11 and 21-6.
