NIAGARA UNIV. — The Purple Eagles women’s lacrosse team rallied with a late comeback attempt against the Jacksonville Dolphins on Wednesday afternoon. Trailing 10-4 early in the second period, Niagara rattled off three straight goals to narrow the deficit to three, but Jacksonville ended Niagara’s unanswered run at the 9:01 mark, as the Dolphins held on for a 12-8 win at D.B. Milne Field.
Jacksonville opened up a 2-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game, but Niagara got on the board as Jillian Ford set up Alexis Morales for the Purple Eagles’ first goal of the afternoon 4:15 in. The Dolphins opened up a 4-1 lead, but Niagara countered with two goals of its own midway through the first period, as Hailey D’Hont set up Caroline Crump at the 17:57 mark before scoring a goal of her own 1:36 later. Morales added her second goal of the afternoon before halftime, but Jacksonville closed the first period on a 6-1 run to lead 9-4 after 30 minutes of play. Jacksonville’s Parker Day scored to make it 10-4 in the opening minutes of the second period, but the Purple Eagles shut the Dolphins out over the next 20 minutes, scoring three goals in that time to cut the deficit in half. Morales scored her third goal of the game at the 22:34 mark before Grace Hunt set up goals for Rachel MacCheyne and Morales, making it 10-7 Jacksonville with 10 minutes to play. The rally was cut short, as Jacksonville got two goals from Hannah Wilcox to extend the Dolphins’ lead to five goals. MacCheyne tallied her second of the afternoon in the closing minutes, but Niagara fell to 2-2 on the season with the 12-8 loss in its first-ever matchup with Jacksonville.
Alexis Morales scored a game-high four goals and now has 15 in four games this season. Morales, who finished second on Niagara with 24 goals in 18 games, extended her MAAC-leading goals per game average to 3.75. Grace Hunt is tied for first in the MAAC in assists per game (3.0) and second in total assists (12) after picking up two in the loss at Jacksonville. Hunt (5+12) and Morales (15+2) are tied for the Niagara scoring lead at 17 points, followed by Rachel MacCheyne (13+2) at 15 points. At the defensive end, Kara Martin led the way for the Purple Eagles with a career-high six ground balls and four caused turnovers. Amy McNally tied her season-highs with three ground balls and three caused turnovers. Alexandra Higgins collected a game-high seven draw controls while Jillian Ford picked up four. Niagara held a 13-9 advantage over Jacksonville in draw controls.
Niagara takes on the Stetson Hatters at 4 p.m. on Friday to wrap up a three-game road trip. The Purple Eagles return to Niagara Field on Monday to take on the Yale Bulldogs at 2 p.m.
