BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- It had been over a week since Post University Women's Lacrosse last hit the field, last playing on March 29th against Southern Connecticut State University. In a matchup of two teams that were 2-2 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference standings who were vying for potentially the sixth and final CACC Tournament spot, a 10-1 fourth quarter for the University of Bridgeport propelled them to a 21-12 victory over the Eagles. The win gives the Purple Knights a one-game lead on Post as well as the end of season head-to-head tiebreaker which could prove to be crucial. 

THE BASICS

Post University 12, University of Bridgeport 21

Post University (4-5, 2-3 CACC)

University of Bridgeport (8-3, 3-2 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Graduate attacker Hailey McHenry got the scoring started first for Post who fell behind by three goals just over three minutes later when the Purple Knights went on a 4-0 run. Of the back of four different goal scorers, Bridgeport blitzed the Eagles for four goals in less than a minute and a half to take a 4-1 lead before once they led by three goals allowing a 3-0 for Post to end the quarter. The freshman midfielder duo of Roksana Debicka and Klara Domachowska teamed up to score the final four goals of the first for the Eagles as the two sides headed into the second tied at five all. 

Graduate attacker Danielle Kreitler opened the second with two straight goals that gave Bridgeport a two-goal lead that they would extend to three goals by the end of the half behind two goals from sophomore midfielder Tara Dimaio around the lone goal of the second quarter by senior attacker Amber McGee, 9-6.

Leading by as many as four goals in the third, Bridgeport seemed to be in control until McGee netted two more, and graduate attacker Gabrielle Fiora tacked on one of her own after McHenry scored earlier around a Purple Knight goal to tie the score at 11 all heading into the fourth.

After Debicka trimmed Post's deficit to one goal, 13-12, in the fourth, she would be carded for a second time in the game resulting in her being unable to play the final 10 minutes and change for the Eagles. The loss of Debicka would prove to be important as Bridgeport went on an 8-0 run to end the game after she exited just after they regained their two-goal lead on a goal by senior midfielder Max McDermott. In total, Post was outscored 10-1 in the fourth, dropping the critical matchup to the Purple Knights, 21-12.

As a team, Post was outshot 42-28 overall, and senior goalie Lauren Bain made just seven saves on 28 total shots faced. Junior goalie Jacklyn Mellia stopped 11 of 23 shots in the victory for the Purple Knights who forced 21 turnovers and picked up 14 ground balls compared to 18 forced turnovers and nine ground balls for the Eagles. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Amber McGee set a new single-game career high in goals with three on the day, recording her first hat trick as an Eagle and bringing her to eight total goals on the year 
• With three draw controls won today, Cara DiStefano now has 213 in her career, moving her 24 back of tying Mirando Polaski (2012-15) for most all-time at 237 draw controls
• Post is 0-5 this season when allowing 10-plus goals and 4-0 when allowing less than 10 goals so far this year -- This is only the second time this season they have allowed 20-plus goals in a game 
• Post University has now lost 13 straight games against the University of Bridgeport dating back to 2011 and have allowed exactly 21 goals in three of the last four matchups 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University starts a four-game homestand with a Saturday morning matchup against Georgian Court University at 11:00 AM at LaMoy Field. The Eagles are 0-19 all-time against the Lions and have not scored more than 10 goals in those 19 games since the 2013 matchup. Since 2014, all those games have been decided by double-digit goal margins.