STAFF REPORTS
news@allwnynews.com
The Niagara women’s lacrosse team returns to game action on Wednesday, March 22 with a 2 p.m. home matchup against the Binghamton Bearcats. The Purple Eagles are looking to get back in the win column after a 13-4 loss in their first-ever matchup against the Yale Bulldogs back on March 13. Wednesday’s game is the last one before Niagara opens conference play, traveling to face Iona on Sunday, March 26.
Both teams struggled to find their way offensively in wintry conditions throughout the first period. Yale opened up a 2-0 lead in the first ten minutes as Tess McEvoy scored on a free-position shot and Izzy Nixon doubled the lead at the 20:24 mark. Niagara would tie the game 2-2 with 11:04 to play until halftime, as Caroline Crump set up a pair of goals scored by Jillian Ford and Hailey D’Hont.
Yale’s Hope Hanley set up Emily Granger to make it 3-2 at the 8:38 mark, but Niagara came back to tie the game again 52 seconds later on a free-position goal by Alexis Morales. Victoria Moore returned the lead to Yale for good at the 5:07 mark, sparking a three-goal run leading into halftime as McEvoy scored twice more at the end of the first period, including a long shot with one second left on the clock.
The Bulldogs held Niagara’s offense in check throughout the second period, allowing just one goal by the Purple Eagles with 2:20 left in the game. Yale scored three times in the opening 7:27 of the second period, and Niagara turned to Aubrey DeVeau in goal after the Bulldogs took a 9-3 lead. After Yale scored twice in the final five minutes to make it a 12-3 game, Niagara got on the board with its fourth goal of the day as Crump set up Rachel MacCheyne for her first goal of the game. McEvoy tacked on her fifth goal of the afternoon for the Bulldogs with 38 seconds to play to give Yale the 13-4 win.
Through six games, the Purple Eagles rank second in the MAAC on offense, scoring 11.83 goals per game. Leading the way offensively is Grace Hunt at 24 points (7+17), followed by Rachel MacCheyne and Alexis Morales at 20 points, both with 18 goals and two assists. Hunt’s 17 assists for the season rank third in the MAAC, and the junior attack leads the conference with 2.83 assists per game played. She had a career-high five assists in wins over Mount St. Mary’s (March 4) and Stetson (March 10). MacCheyne and Morales are tied for seventh in the MAAC with 18 goals apiece.
The Purple Eagles are second in the MAAC with 18.33 points per game (35th in the NCAA) including a conference-best 6.5 assists per game (17th in the NCAA). At the defensive end, Niagara leads the MAAC with 11.0 goals against per game, 11.3 caused turnovers per game, and 14.83 draw controls per game.
Kara Martin leads Niagara with 18 ground balls this season, and her 3.0 ground balls per game leads the MAAC. Goalkeeper Andrea Francisco has 16 ground balls, followed by Alexandra Higgins (14) and Jillian Ford (13). With 37 draw controls in six games, Higgins ranks first in the MAAC and EIGHTH in the NCAA with 6.17 draw controls per game. At midfield, Ford has nine points (5+4) in six games to rank fifth in scoring for the Purple Eagles. She is also second on the team with 18 draw controls and 10 caused turnovers. Martin, Ford, Higgins, and Amy McNally all rank in the MAAC’s top 10 averaging 1.50 caused turnovers per game or more, with Martin’s 1.83 caused turnovers per game leading the conference. Andrea Francisco’s 10.97 goals-against average leads the MAAC. Francisco also has 50 saves in six games for a .455 save percentage this season.
The Binghamton Bearcats come to Monteagle Ridge for their ninth game of the season, previously earning wins over Colgate (16-12 on Feb. 22) and Saint Francis (20-7 on March 10). Niagara is 4-7 all-time against Binghamton. The Purple Eagles opened last season against Binghamton on the road, with the Bearcats taking a 6-5 overtime win. Rebecca Golderman leads the Bearcats and ranks 34th in the NCAA with 24 goals this season. Binghamton is also led at the offensive end by Jacqueline Kennedy (15+5), Tiffany Ryan (11+6), and Emily Yoo (6+8). Defensively, goalkeeper Emma Jehle leads the Bearcats with 18 ground balls, followed by Valerie DiNapoli with 16 and Kennedy at 14.
Kennedy also leads the America East Conference with 1.63 caused turnovers per game. In goal, Jehle has a goals-against average of 13.71 and a save percentage of .449.
