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NIAGARA UNIV. — This weekend, the Niagara women’s lacrosse team takes on the Fairfield Stags in the team’s first MAAC home game in the 2017 campaign. The Purple Eagles will look to take down Fairfield after the Stags ended Niagara’s season last year with a 9-7 win at Niagara Field in the first round of the 2016 MAAC Championship.
During the 2016 regular season, Niagara took down Fairfield on the road for the team’s first-ever win over the Stags. Trailing 7-5 at halftime, Andrea Francisco stopped all four shots on goal in the second period as Niagara came back for the 9-7 victory.
On a two-game road trip earlier this week, Niagara secured a win in its first MAAC game of the season, holding off a late run from the Iona Gaels for an 11-9 victory. Jillian Ford led Niagara in the win over Iona with three goals, two ground balls, four draw controls, and three caused turnovers. Rachel MacCheyne (1+2) and Alexis Morales (2+1) also had three points in the win. Playing at Big Ten opponent Rutgers on Tuesday night, Niagara stayed with the Scarlet Knights early in the game, trailing 7-4 with five minutes left in the first period. Rutgers scored three times in the last 1:25 before halftime and scored four more consecutive goals to start the second period to pull ahead, and the game ended in an 18-8 loss for Niagara. Alexandra Higgins turned in a standout defensive performance against Rutgers, collecting a game-high four ground balls and eight draw controls to go with one caused turnover. MacCheyne scored another three points on two goals and one assist to lead the Purple Eagles offensively.
Niagara ranks third in the MAAC in scoring offense, averaging 11.11 goals for per game. Rachel MacCheyne is fourth in the MAAC with 25 goals, while Alexis Morales ranks fifth with 23. Junior Grace Hunt leads the conference and ranks in the top 20 of the NCAA in both total assists (20) and assists per game (2.22). Overall, MacCheyne is third in the MAAC with 3.44 points per game, while Morales and Hunt are tied for ninth at 3.0 points per game. On defense, the Purple Eagles are fourth in the conference with 11.56 goals against per game. Niagara leads the MAAC with 10.56 caused turnovers and 14.22 draw controls per game, and ranks third with 19.11 ground balls per game. Alexandra Higgins leads the MAAC with 55 draw controls in nine games, and she ranks NINTH in the NCAA with 6.11 draw controls per game. A native of Hamburg, N.Y., Higgins is also among the MAAC’s leaders in ground balls per game (fifth, 2.67) and caused turnovers per game (fourth, 1.56).
Higgins’ fellow Hamburg native, Jillian Ford, is second in the MAAC with 16 caused turnovers and sixth with 26 draw controls in addition to scoring 12 goals and four assists at the offensive end. Senior defender Kara Martin is second on Niagara with 23 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers.
In goal, Andrea Francisco ranks third in the MAAC with a goals-against average of 11.35 and sixth with a save percentage of .457.
Fairfield comes to Niagara on a three-game winning streak, securing victories over Sacred Heart, Siena, and Central Connecticut State along the way. Niagara picked up its first-ever win over Fairfield last season with a 9-7 road win on Apr. 23, 2016, but the Stags defeated Niagara 9-7 at Niagara Field in the first round of the 2016 MAAC Championships on Apr. 30, 2016. The Stags lead the MAAC in scoring defense, allowing just 9.11 goals per game, and they are also second in the MAAC in scoring offense at 12.56 goals for per game. Riley Hellstein leads Fairfield with 29 goals and 41 points this season; her of 4.56 points is tops among all players in the MAAC. Brenna Connolly has a team-high 13 assists and is second to Hellstein on the Stags with 25 points. In goal, Caleigh O’Connor leads the MAAC with a 9.52 goals-against average for Fairfield. She is also third in the conference with a save percentage of .476. Fairfield leads the MAAC with 21.11 ground balls per game. Scarlett Sulliman has a team-high 18 ground balls, followed by Alex Fehmel at 17. Erin Mammele leads the Stags with 40 draw controls, and Lily Crager has a team-high 13 caused turnovers.
