RINDGE, N.H. – It was a second-half explosion of offense for Post University Men's Lacrosse to the tune of 10 goals, including a stretch of nine unanswered goals, mixed with lockdown defense from the Eagles, who allowed just four goals against Franklin Pierce University in that same 30-minute stretch that swung momentum in favor of the road team on Wednesday afternoon. Senior attacker Ryan Denike scored four goals during a 9-0 run for the Eagles as part of his five-goal day to lead Post back into the win column, 14-8, the second straight win for the Eagles against the Ravens in the all-time series. 

THE BASICS

Post University 14, Franklin Pierce University 8

Post University (2-1)

Franklin Pierce University (1-2)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Scoring came at a premium for both sides in the first half as it was a 4-4 tie heading into halftime, with the teams exchanging leads a handful of times. For Post, it was junior midfielder Gabe Roman scoring first, while senior attacker Leighton Cooke had two first-half goals as part of his four-goal day for the Eagles, while sophomore midfielder Kegan Swain tallied one as well. Swain led the way in the faceoff dot for the Eagles, winning 9-of-15 faceoffs and defensively pacing Post with five ground balls while offensively scoring once and adding on an assist.

One of the two leads that Franklin Pierce had in the affair came in the first quarter as a 2-0 run by junior midfielder Chris Hunt and graduate midfielder Jackson Philion turned into a 3-2 lead for the Ravens, who never led by more than one goal. After Philion registered his second of three goals in the game, which gave Franklin Pierce a 6-5 lead with 11:05 left in the third, the rest of the game would be all Post in part due to their 9-0 run that lasted well into the fourth quarter, putting the game away.

Maintaining their strong defensive presence from the first half, the Eagles allowed just four goals to the Ravens, forcing them into nine turnovers as part of a 19-turnover game, and most importantly, staying out of the penalty box for the entire afternoon. When Denike scored to tie the game at the 8:57 mark, it was the start of a five-goal half for him alone, which tied his single-game career high from April 10th, 2024, in a road win against Dominican (N.Y.), where he had an identical stat line of five goals and one assist for six points like he did today.

Sophomore midfielder Will Brien tallied two goals and two assists as well during the second half, and freshman attacker Andrew Grippo also scored once for Post. Sophomore goalie Aiden Waller earned his first win of the season in net for Post, making 13 saves and allowing eight goals in 59:11 of action, while sophomore goalie Liam McCurry played the final 49 seconds of the 14-8 win. 

BY THE NUMBER

• Like the start of last year, Leighton Cooke has a hat trick in two of his first three games, scoring four goals for four points in today's win for Post University 
• Ryan Denike finished with a team-high six points, scoring five goals and adding an assist for Post University -- The five goals tie Denike's career high with his five-goal performance against Dominican (N.Y.) in the road back on April 10th, 2024
• So far this season, Post University has held its opponents to less than 10 goals in two of its three games -- Last season, the Eagle defense had five games in which they held their opponents under 10 goals
• After losing five consecutive games to Franklin Pierce University, Post University has won its last two head-to-head matchups for the first time in program history 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University starts conference play this Saturday when they take on Georgian Court University at LaMoy Field, with faceoff set for 12:00 PM. The Eagles are 3-8 in the all-time series against the Lions, dropping the last four matchups overall, including a 14-10 decision last spring.