WATERBURY, Conn. –  For Post University Men's Lacrosse, the scenarios were simple heading into their regular-season finale against Chestnut Hill College at LaMoy Field. A win for the Eagles meant the second seed and a first-round bye in the CACC Tournament, while a loss dropped them to the fourth seed to take on Holy Family University in the First Round at home on Saturday.

Coming back from an early three-goal deficit and nearly doing so again at the end of regulation, Post would come up a goal short in a 9-8 loss to the Griffins on Wednesday, setting up a rematch against fifth-seeded Holy Family University on Saturday at 4:00 PM. 

THE BASICS

Post University 8, Chestnut Hill College 9

Post University (9-6, 5-3 CACC)

Chestnut Hill College (8-4, 7-1 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
As has been the case in every game of the all-time series, both teams would not reach the double-digit goal mark, something that had not been done in the previous 12 matchups and would continue on Wednesday afternoon. Four of the first five goals in the affair came from the Griffins by way of four different goal scorers, while senior attacker Leighton Cooke put up his first goal of the game in between a pair of 2-0 runs, making it a 4-1 lead for the visitors in the second.

Cooke continued to dazzle in the game, scoring a team-high five goals, including three in the first half alone, which helped Post pull within one by halftime, 4-3. To that point, it was a battle of the goalies, as sophomore goalie Aiden Waller had seven saves for the Eagles, while senior goalie Adam Daley had eight saves in the one-goal game.

While the Griffins controlled the ball for a large portion of the third quarter, adding to their lead with the first of two second-half goals from junior attacker Jake Ballerini, Cooke's fourth goal and sophomore midfielder Kegan Swain's lone goal of the day helped Post pull even again at five with 5:50 left in the frame. The two sides would head into the fourth tied at six all after Cooke's fifth goal in the final minute, which came after Ballerini's response to Swain's game-tying goal.

Although they would have their chances in the fourth, four saves from Daley, along with four turnovers from the Eagle offense, kept them off the scoreboard until the final minute of regulation, which was after a trio of scores from the Griffins throughout the first 14 minutes. With 47 seconds left, freshman attacker Cameron Maunders scored with the help of senior attacker Ryan Denike, before Denike helped sophomore midfielder Will Brien net his first of the game just 30 seconds later, making it a one-goal game, 9-8. 

Sophomore midfielder Charlie Foster would win his third consecutive faceoff with 17 seconds left in regulation, but the Post offense would be unable to corral the ball to make a last-second push down the field to tie the game up and force overtime. Senior defender Silas Charles forced a turnover in the final moments as the Griffins kept the ball on the ground to secure the second seed in the conference tournament with the 9-8 win.

BY THE NUMBER

• Leighton Cooke commanded the Post University offense, scoring five times for five points, while Ryan Denike put together a four-point performance via his four assists
• Aiden Waller had another impressive game in net for Post University, making 13 saves on 21 attempts from Chestnut Hill College to record his ninth double-digit save game this year
• When allowing 10 goals or fewer this season, Post University falls to 8-3 on the season, with losses only against D'Youville University, Wilmington University, and now Chestnut Hill College
• In the 13 matchups between the two teams, none of them have concluded with both teams scoring 10-plus goals -- Post University has now dropped three consecutive games to Chestnut Hill College, all by one goal

WHO'S NEXT
Entering the CACC Tournament as the fourth seed, Post University will play in the First Round matchup slated for Saturday afternoon at LaMoy Field with a 4:00 PM start time against Holy Family University, which is the fifth seed. While 3-0 in the all-time series against the Tigers, the Eagles narrowly escaped with a win at home on April 4th in a 14-13 victory.