SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –  Senior attacker Ryan Denike recorded his eighth career hat trick for Post University Men's Lacrosse as part of a five-point game, as two shutout quarters by the Eagle defense helped them pull away from AIC late for their 2026 season-opening victory, 14-6, on the road on Wednesday night in Springfield, Massachusetts.

THE BASICS

Post University 14, AIC 6

Post University (1-0)

AIC (1-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED
In allowing only six goals defensively, Post held AIC scoreless in both the first and fourth quarters, bookending a strong start and finish, while the Yellow Jackets made a midgame push offensively, which pulled themselves out of an early 6-0 hole to make it a one-goal game heading into that final quarter of action. Sophomore midfielder Will Brien got the scoring started just over five minutes into the first as part of a five-goal first quarter for Post, who got contributions from four different players offensively with that start.

Of the five points that Denike closed with, four of them came within the first 16:01 of play, recording the second, fourth, and sixth goals for the Eagles while assisting on Brien's game-opening goal, before capping off his day with an assist on sophomore midfielder Connor Denny's goal that solidified the eight-goal victory for Post, 14-6. Among the two teams, only five penalties were called for a total of three minutes combined, while 11 of the 20 goals scored came unassisted. 

After leading by six goals on three occasions, an 8-2 lead with 10:23 left in the third following freshman attacker Andrew Grippo's first collegiate goal, would suddenly evaporate down to just two goals heading into the fourth as a 4-0 run by AIC to end the frame with goals from four different players gave momentum to the Yellow Jackets heading into the fourth trailing just 8-6.

The momentum would be short-lived, though, as within two minutes of each other, sophomore midfielder Kegan Swain had two goals to kick off a six-goal fourth for the Eagles, which also featured a pair of scores from freshman attacker Cameron Maunders, who was named to the NEILA Preseason Watch List earlier in the week, giving Post some breathing room.

Sophomore midfielder Charlie Foster had a big day in the faceoff dot as well as on defense, winning 13-of-19 and gathering a team-high eight ground balls, while sophomore long-stick midfielder Gavin Lee was right behind him with six ground balls defensively and tied with three other Eagles with a team-high two caused turnovers. Senior attacker Jordan Boyenko led the AIC offense with two goals as sophomore goalie Liam McCurry, who made his first start since March 15th, 2025, against Molloy, stifled the Yellow Jackets with 12 saves while allowing only six goals. 

BY THE NUMBER

• With his hat trick today, Ryan Denike has now recorded eight games in which he has had three-plus goals in his four-year career -- Denike finished with three goals and two assists in the win
• Of the 20 total goals scored between both teams, 11 of them were unassisted goals, with seven of those coming from Post University 
• Allowing only six goals to AIC in the victory, this is the first time since February 26th, 2025, in which Post University has held their opponent to six goals, when they did so against Franklin Pierce University in a 16-6 win at home
• In the all-time series, Post University is now 9-3 overall against AIC, having won each of the last five matchups since the 2022 season against the Yellow Jackets, and is 6-1 all-time on the road in the matchup

WHO'S NEXT
Post University will host its first home game of the 2026 season next Wednesday at 3:30 PM against Assumption University at LaMoy Field. In the all-time series, the Eagles are 0-7 against the Greyhounds, dropping their first matchup since 2020 last season, 12-8, at home.