WEST CALDWELL, N.J.- Caldwell University men's lacrosse junior Matthew Bronico (Phillipsburg, N.J.) posted a season-high in face-off wins and ground balls as the Cougars rally fell short 12-11 to Post University in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference game.
 
The Cougars fall to 2-7 overall and 0-3 in the CACC, while the Eagles improve to 4-4 and 2-1 in conference play.
 
The teams traded goals over first quarter plus, matching each other with three goals each. Sophomore Jason Staudte (Sound Beach, N.Y.), junior Michael Brown (Glenolden, Pa.) and junior Owen Healey (Washington, N.J.) matched Post goals to keep the score tied at 3-3 early in the second quarter.
 
The Eagles netted seven unanswered goals that stretched into the second half to build a 10-3 lead at the 11:38 mark of the third quarter.
 
Caldwell battled back as Brown, sophomore Jayden Paladino (Hawthorne, N.J.) and Staudte netted goals to close the gap to 10-6. Junior Kevin Albright (Mays Landing, N.J.) broke up Post goals as the Eagles led 12-7 with 4:10 left in the third quarter.
 
The Cougars rallied back scoring three goals over the final three minutes of the quarter with Paladino netting two goals, while Albright tallied his second of the day to cut the score to 12-10 after three quarters.
 
Caldwell trimmed to score to 12-11 early in the fourth quarter with Staudte's third tally of the day. The Cougars has scoring opportunities down the stretch including one in the final minute but their rally came up short.
 
Bronico finished with season-highs in faceoff wins with 13 and ground balls with eight. Staudte led the Cougar offense with four points on three goals and one assist. Paladino added three goals, while Brown and Albright each scored twice.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Shane Murphy (Middletown, N.J.) totaled 10 saves in 60 minutes of play in net.
 
The Cougars travel to Georgian Court University for a CACC contest on Wednesday, April 6 at 3 pm.