STAFF REPORTS
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NEW ROCHELLE — The Niagara Purple Eagles women’s lacrosse team held off a late rally from the Iona Gaels and picked up an 11-9 victory Sunday afternoon in the team’s first game of MAAC competition for the 2017 season. Jillian Ford was an all-around leader for the Purple Eagles with three goals, two ground balls, four draw controls, and three caused turnovers. Andrea Francisco made a season-high 11 saves in goal for her fourth win of the season.
Iona opened the game with a quick two-goal lead, but Caroline Crump opened the Niagara scoring with her 10th goal of the season, making it 2-1 six minutes in. Crump’s goal sparked a 6-2 run for Niagara throughout the remainder of the first period. Grace Hunt set up Jillian Ford for the tying goal at the 17:21 mark. After Iona took a 3-2 lead on a goal by Katelyn Noschese, Rachel MacCheyne set up a strike from Alexis Morales before Ford put Niagara ahead 4-3 on a free-position score. Iona responded with a tying goal just 1:19 after Ford’s goal, but MacCheyne returned the lead to the Purple Eagles at the 1:39 mark. Samantha Brill beat the buzzer and scored with five seconds left in the first period, putting Niagara up 6-4 at the half.
A 4-1 Niagara run through the first 15 minutes of the second period gave the Purple Eagles a commanding 10-5 lead. Ford started the run 5:07 after halftime, and after an Iona goal, Hailey D’Hont, Mackenzie Molodetz, and Alexis Morales tallied three straight in a four-minute stretch.
Iona was able to hold the Purple Eagles in check and use a three-goal run of their own to make it a 10-8 game, pulling within two with 6:43 to play. A free-position goal by Brill put Niagara back up three, and Iona was only able to score once more against the Niagara defense, as the game ended in an 11-9 win for the Purple Eagles.
Niagara wraps up its two-game road trip at Rutgers on Tuesday night, the team’s first of two games against Big Ten competition this season. The Purple Eagles and Scarlet Knights are slated for a 7 p.m. opening draw. The Purple Eagles return to Niagara Field on Saturday to host the Fairfield Stags at 12 p.m.
