The Niagara Purple Eagles women’s lacrosse team opens a three-game road trip in Maryland on Saturday, March 4. Coming off of a hard-fought home game against Colgate on Tuesday that ended in an 11-10 loss, the Purple Eagles will look to get back in the win column against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers. Game time at Waldron Family Stadium is slated for 11 a.m.
After defeating St. Bonaventure 18-5 in the season and home opener on Feb. 20, Niagara closed out the month of February against the Colgate Raiders, falling by a score of 11-10 on Tuesday. It was the second all-time matchup between Niagara and Colgate, and both times the Raiders have won by a score of 11-10. Alexis Morales led the Purple Eagles in scoring with four goals, and Rachel MacCheyne and Caroline Crump each tallied two goals and one assist. Jillian Ford led Niagara with five ground balls, and Ford and Amy McNally each generated a team-high three caused turnovers. Alexandra Higgins led Niagara with six draw controls. Andrea Francisco made 10 saves on 21 shots on goal in the loss. Trailing 3-1 with 13 minutes left in the first period, MacCheyne scored to spark a 5-1 Niagara run to seize a two-goal lead at the half. Niagara would tack on two more goals in the first five minutes of the second period, courtesy of Crump and Morales, to take a commanding 8-4 lead with 25:12 to play. Over the next 15 minutes, however, the Raiders held Niagara scoreless and went on a 6-0 run, making it 10-8 Colgate with 10 minutes to play. Niagara would respond to tie the game as MacCheyne and Grace Hunt scored goals separated by 1:11 to make it 10-10. The final goal of the game came from the Raiders, as Haley O’Hanlon beat Francisco with 4:20 left for the eventual game-winner.
At the offensive end, Niagara leads the MAAC in scoring offense (14.0 goals per game), assists per game (7.0), and shots per game (31.5). Alexis Morales leads the MAAC and ranks fifth in the NCAA with 4.5 goals per game. Rachel MacCheyne (8.5) and Morales (7.5) rank first and fourth, respectively, in the MAAC in shots per game. Niagara also leads the MAAC in scoring defense, yielding just 8.0 goals against per game played. They also average a MAAC-leading 24 ground balls per game and 15 caused turnovers per game, while ranking second with 14 draw controls per game. Jillian Ford, Alexandra Higgins, and Kara Martin are all tied for second in the MAAC with 3.50 ground balls per game. Higgins leads the conference with 5.0 draw controls per game.
Higgins and Ford lead the conference and rank seventh in the NCAA with 3.0 caused turnovers per game. Andrea Francisco leads the MAAC with a goals-against average of 7.95 and a save percentage of .531, ranking fifth with 8.5 saves per game.
A member of the Northeast Conference (NEC), Mount St. Mary’s holds a 3-1 lead all-time against Niagara. The Purple Eagles earned their first win over the Mountaineers last season, a 12-11 victory at Niagara Field. Caroline Crump scored five goals and one assist in the win, earning MAAC Rookie of the Week honors for her offensive output. Mount St. Mary’s welcomes Niagara to Waldron Family Stadium after opening the season with losses to Longwood (13-10) and UMBC (16-7). Sammie Knapp leads the Mountaineers with five points (4+1) in two games, while Taylor Carhart (4+0), Kate Kinsella (3+1), and Carly Miller (3+1) are all tied for second at four points. Goalkeeper Jillian Petito has a team-high five ground balls. Jannel Daufenbach leads Mount St. Mary’s with seven draw controls. Daufenbach, Knapp, and Emily Dees are tied for the team lead with two caused turnovers. Petito has started both games for Mount St. Mary’s and has a 16.19 goals-against average and .278 save percentage.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT
