MANCHESTER, N.H. – Playing the University of Bridgeport for the second time in less than a week, the ending would be the same for Post University Men's Soccer, this time in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament hosted by Southern New Hampshire University on Friday afternoon. After being named to an at-large bid as the eighth seed in the tournament while Bridgeport was the ninth seed, the Eagles would once again hold the lead against the Purple Knights, before a third come-from-behind bid saw them snatch away a 2-1 victory, ending Post's season. 

THE BASICS

#8 Post University 1, #9 University of Bridgeport 2

RV Post University (9-3-7)

University of Bridgeport (9-4-8)

HOW IT HAPPENED
In all three matchups this season, Post held a lead that they would be unable to hold on to, leading 2-0 in their regular season match before tying at two all, 3-1 in the CACC Championship before falling by a 4-3 final, and then this afternoon with a 1-0 lead before the Purple Knights answered back with two goals for the 2-1 win to advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. Bridgeport will take on top-seeded Southern New Hampshire University on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 PM with a bid to the Round of 16 on the line for both sides.

Graduate midfielder Luis Rodrigues continued to lead the Eagle offense with his team-leading 10th goal of the season in only the 13th minute from junior forward Aidan Tross, giving Post a quick 1-0, but one that would only last a little over seven minutes before graduate forward Loik Poder tied it up at one all with the help of freshman forward Kristians Prieditis, the CACC's Rookie of the Year.

Using their second-half magic again, the Purple Knights regained the lead, 2-1, with Prieditis' eighth goal of the campaign on a high right side shot that got by junior goalkeeper Leopold Dufaut in the 71st minute, which would end up standing as the game-winning goal. However, with time winding down, Post would have a couple of chances for the equalizer, with the best coming from graduate midfielder Pablo Tenorio with just over four minutes remaining when he found an opening but shot it high over the net. The same would ring true in the final moments for graduate defender Iago Rodriguez, who also missed wide as time expired on the season for Post.

Sophomore goalkeeper Victor Masek made three saves on four shots for the Purple Knights, while Dufaut finished with no saves as Bridgeport only got two shots on goal against him, both of which went in. As a team, Post held a 12-9 edge in shots, including 10-2 in the second half, with six corner kick tries to the Purple Knights' one in the affair.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Luis Rodrigues finishes the 2025 campaign with a team-leading 10 goals, as well as tied for the team lead with five assists for a total of 25 points
• Leopold Dufaut closes his year in net with a 0.62 goals against average, allowing only 11 goals in 18 games played with a 9-2-7 record, seven shutouts, and two combined shutouts 
• Post University has lost two consecutive matches to the University of Bridgeport for the first time since the early 2000s, when they dropped their first four consecutive matchups to the Purple Knights
• This is the first time since the 2018 season in which Post University has not made it to at least the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament 

WHO'S NEXT
In a rematch from the 2024 NCAA Tournament Second Round, Post University faces top-seeded Southern New Hampshire University on Sunday at 3:00 PM. The Eagles have tied the Penmen in their last two matches, 1-1, winning on penalty kicks, 7-6, last year in the postseason.