WATERBURY, Conn. – It seems that when Post University Men's Lacrosse and American International College (AIC) meet, it is always a defensive battle between the two squads and Wednesday afternoon at LaMoy Field was no different. Five goals from senior attacker Robbie McGrayne, helping him become the all-time leading goal scorer for the Eagles with 137 goals, surpassing Dylan Heald (2021-24) who held the record.

Graduate attacker Hunter McCarty's late fourth-quarter goal proved to be the difference maker in halting a late comeback attempt by AIC as Post closed the homestand with a narrow 12-11 victory to finish their homestand with a 2-1 record. 

THE BASICS

Post University 12, AIC 11

Post University (2-1)

AIC (1-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was junior attacker Leighton Cooke and junior attacker Ryan Denike putting on a show for Post in the first half as the duo accounted for five of a possible six points offensively. In that stretch, Cooke scored twice with freshman midfielder Will Brien tallying the only other goal through two quarters while Denike was responsible for assisting on all three of the goals the Eagles scored.

Equally impressive on the other side for the Yellow Jackets was senior midfielder Tyler Goode, helping out on two of the three first-half goals for AIC in what was a 3-3 tie at halftime. Junior attacker Jordan Boyenko, senior midfielder Hunter Terlik, and freshman attacker Cole Gaudet, who scored on the man-up advantage, were all responsible for the scoring by the Yellow Jackets through 30 minutes of action.

Between the pipes, freshman goalie Liam McCurry had 11 saves at the break while sophomore goalie Logan Dobrowski ate up six shots for the Yellow Jackets in a first half that saw both teams commit 12 turnovers each. Two goals would be the largest lead that either side had during the entirety of the game, and coming out in the third quarter, it was AIC who took the first two-goal lead after McGrayne scored his first goal of the afternoon for the Eagles.

Going on a 3-0 run starting with Gaudet's goal, sophomore long-stick midfielder Carter Linkletter and sophomore midfielder Seven Gillingham each scored unassisted just over a minute apart to make it a 6-4 game in favor of the visitors. But it would be a short-lived lead as Brien's two goals, bringing him to three on the afternoon, pulled Post even at eight all heading into the fourth quarter where both teams would continue to play deadlocked lacrosse until the final minutes.

Scoring four of his five goals in the fourth quarter alone to break the program mark for goals, McGrayne helped Post take an 8-7 lead to start the frame and eventually a two-goal lead, 10-8, with 10:45 remaining in regulation before AIC punched back. Going to work to tie it up at 10 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining was Goode and Boyenko with their back-to-back goals which was followed up by McGrayne for his final goal of the afternoon with 5:44 left. 

However, adding to the lead in a big way was McCarty with 4:02 remaining as he helped the Eagles take what would end up being a crucial two-goal lead, 12-10, before the Yellow Jackets made their final push. Scoring his second goal of the game as part of a five-point day with less than a minute to go was Goode before a turnover from sophomore defenseman Nick Gallery that was forced by sophomore defenseman Charlie Blankstein gave AIC one last chance.

As time wound down though, the Yellow Jackets would be unable to get a shot off as a turnover by sophomore midfielder Jacob Ligor resulted in the Eagles running out the final 10 seconds on the clock to sneak away with the 12-11 victory. Winning his second straight game in net for the Eagles was McCurry after making 16 saves on 27 shots from AIC while Dobrowski took the loss despite a 14-save effort for AIC. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• With Robbie McGrayne's five goals today, he becomes the programs new all-time leader in career goals with 137 and counting, surpassing Dylan Heald's (2021-24) record of 134 goals -- McGrayne also had six more points in the game, giving him 182 in his career which is 20 points away from Heald's all-time mark of 202 points 
• Ryan Denike finished with three assists for a total of three points, giving him 98 points in his career and just two away from being the sixth member of the 100th Point Club in program history 
• Hunter McCarty's one-goal, one-assist day brings him to a career 97 goals as he approaches 100 career goals while ticking up to 158 points in hopes of reaching 200 points in his career 
• Currently on pace to break another record, Robbie McGrayne needs to play in at least seven more games this season for Post University to become the all-time leader in career games played by three different players in Jack Kearney, Frank Nichols Jr., and Peter Naboka with 55 games played each 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University faces off next Wednesday against St. Thomas Aquinas College in its first road game of the season at 2:00 PM in Sparkill, New York. The Eagles have won three straight games against the Spartans in the all-time series and in last year's game they recorded the first shutout in program history with a 21-0 win.