WATERBURY, Conn. – It was a dogfight until the very end for Post University Men's Lacrosse to prevail past the first round of the CACC Tournament on Sunday afternoon against fifth-seeded University of Bridgeport at LaMoy Field. Hosting the first round, the fourth-seeded Eagles found themselves ahead early by seven in the second quarter and five in the third, but a pair of Purple Knight runs made things much closer down the stretch before three goals in the final nine minutes by Post helped them edge out their in-state rivals, 16-13.

The win sends the Eagles down to face top-seeded Wilmington University on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 PM, a team they lost to at LaMoy Field a week or so ago, 15-10, after leading a majority of the game.

THE BASICS

Post University 16, University of Bridgeport 13

Post University (10-7)

University of Bridgeport (7-8)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Like with the first matchup between the two teams, it was a game of runs that saw Post take an early lead with a big run before Bridgeport responded with one of their own to get back into it. Sophomore midfielder Leighton Cooke and senior midfielder Noah Piette each scored a goal for the Eagles around a pair from the Purple Knights off the sticks of sophomore midfielder James Napoli and junior midfielder Aidan Kirkpatrick which knotted the game at two all near the end of the first quarter.

But it was at that point the Eagles would go on their big run which looked to seize control of the contest in front of their home crowd. Seven consecutive goals from Post saw junior attacker Robbie McGrayne, junior midfielder Tim Keefe, and senior attacker Dylan Heald each net two goals while sophomore attacker Ryan Denike added one of his own to the now 9-2 lead with 5:02 left in the first half.

But ending the half with a 5-0 run, the Purple Knights wiggled their way back into the game behind two more Kirkpatrick goals along with the first of the day from both freshman attackers Ashton Lankowski and James Goodrich and a second goal from Napoli. That run turned a once seven-goal lead into just a two-goal lead, 9-7, at the break.

Once again, runs would define the third quarter as a 4-1 run from Heald, Keefe, Denike, and McGrayne around a single goal by senior midfielder Dewey Schoenfelder re-upped the Post lead to five, 13-8. But after a goal from sophomore midfielder Matthew Levantini followed by undisciplined penalties led to a pair of man-up goals for the Purple Knights after a two-minute penalty by the Eagles was unreleasable from Schoenfelder turning a once five-goal lead back down to two into the fourth, 13-11.

With all the momentum on their side, the Purple Knights tied the game up at 13 all for the first time since it was 2-2 in the first as Schoenfelder and Lankowski each netted another goal to make it a brand-new game with 9:54 left in regulation. But at that point, the Eagles would wake back up on both sides of the ball leading to two goals from Heald and one from McGrayne all within the next five minutes and change to pull away for the 16-13 victory, advancing to the CACC Semifinals to face Wilmington.

Senior goalie Cole George helped keep Post's season alive, making 18 saves while Bridgeport rattled the Eagle defense with 46 total shots. But that same defense for Post also forced 23 total turnovers, including six for junior long-stick midfielder James Sproul which set the new single-game record for the Eagles. Sproul also led the way with five ground balls, tied with senior defender Nolan Carfagna in the game.

BY THE NUMBERS

• James Sproul set the new single-game record for most caused turnovers in program history, picking up six in the game which surpassed seven players, including his own mark just the other week against Wilmington University
• Robbie McGrayne had the best all-around effort for Post University, registering four goals and four assists for a total of eight points in the win
• Winning only eight of their 31 faceoffs in today's game, that was a season-low for Post University as Jaxon Holden went 8-for-27 and sophomore midfielder Leighton Cooke was 0-for-4 in the game
• Post University moves to 3-0 all-time against the University of Bridgeport – This was the first time these two teams met in the CACC Tournament and the first time the Purple Knights made the CACC Tournament in their two-year history

WHO'S NEXT
Post University will travel to face top-seeded Wilmington University on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 PM for the CACC Tournament Semifinals and a chance to go to the CACC Championship Game for the first time in program history. When the two teams faced off at LaMoy Field just over a week ago, the Eagles held a slim two-goal lead for most of the game before a 6-0 run by the Wildcats flipped the script on the game and sent them to a perfect 8-0 record in the CACC with a 15-10 win.