WILMINGTON, Del. –  Last year, it was an early penalty kick that gave American International College (AIC) the lead against Post University Men's Soccer in their 2023 opener before the Eagles tied the game up late forcing a 1-1 draw. This year in the 2024 opener at the Wilmington Kickoff Invitational, it was a penalty kick that was the difference between a win and a draw for Post as graduate midfielder Luca Dettoli's penalty kick goal with just over five minutes left in the game lifted the 14th-ranked Eagles to a 1-0 season-opening win against the Yellow Jackets on Thursday.

THE BASICS

#14 Post University 1, American International College 0 

#14 Post University (1-0-0)

American International College (0-1-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Not much was doing for either team in the first half as Post owned a 6-1 edge in overall shots while graduate goalkeeper Lucas Morales-Fernandez was forced to make four saves in net for AIC while sophomore goalkeeper Leopold Dufaut made one on the lone shot taken against him in the opening 45 minutes.

A quiet second half saw neither team able to get the upper hand on the other and despite a 5-1 shot advantage, Post had just one shot on goal which was corralled by Morales-Fernandez in the 62nd minute. But in the 86th minute, a trio of Eagles in the box would go up for the ball being crossed into the box leading to an AIC foul and a penalty kick for Post.

Coming off an injury last season, Dettoli would convert on the kick going to Morales-Fernandez's right while the graduate student jumped to his left, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Looking for one last gasp to tie the game, junior midfielder Thomas Lafayette would fire on Dufaut and he would corral the ball easily to turn away the attempt. In the closing 30 seconds, Morales-Fernandez would lift a free kick from near midfield that Dufaut would leap for and bring in to secure Post's first win of the season.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• In his first game as an Eagle, sophomore goalkeeper Leopold Dufaut earned his first shutout, making two saves – This is the 12th shutout that Post University has had since the beginning of the 2023 season
• Besides Leopold Dufaut, two other field players played the full 90 minutes for Post University in defenders Felipe Garcia and Felix Nassen
• After dropping their first five matches in the all-time series against AIC, Post University has gone 4-0-1 in the last five matches which have all come from 2011 to 2024
• Dating back to last season, Post University has been unbeaten in 17 of their last 18 games with the one loss being in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 16 last fall against Division II's top team in Franklin Pierce University

WHO'S NEXT
Post University closes out their time at the Wilmington Kick Off Invitational on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM against Adelphi University. The two teams met last year in the opening tournament against AIC where the Eagles came away with a 3-1 win to even the all-time series at 2-2-1.