NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — The Niagara University women’s lacrosse team and head coach Wendy Stoneannounced the 2019 regular season schedule on Wednesday. The Purple Eagles’ 17-game schedule features seven home games, including the season opener on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. against the Saint Bonaventure Bonnies. The non-conference schedule is highlighted with road trips to two Big Ten schools.
“Our 2019 schedule will allow us the opportunity to challenge ourselves across the board heading into MAAC play,” Stone said. “The play in the MAAC has improved over all, and our out of conference schedule should prepare us well for our conference schedule. We could not be happier with the progress that we have made on the field this fall on both ends of the field. We know that our team has set our sights high this year, and we will look to build on the successes we had last season. We are looking forward to rising to the challenge and taking another step forward as a program.”
After hosting the Bonnies to open the season, the Purple Eagles will travel to Binghamton on February 17. Last season, Niagara edged the Bearcats, 8-7, in their meeting at Niagara Field last season.
The Purple Eagles will return home to take on Central Connecticut on February 23 and 1 p.m. After their contest with the Blue Devils, Niagara will be on the road for four straight games. The first away game of the trip will take place at Ohio State on March 3. The Purple Eagles will head to Yale (March 7) and Bryant (March 9) before closing out the stretch against UMass in a neutral-site game at Stetson on March 13.
Niagara’s first game back will be against Marquette at 12 p.m. on March 17. Last season the Golden Eagles hosted the Purple Eagles, dropping a 17-14 decision to allow Niagara to go to 3-0 for the first time in 13 years. After Marquette, Monmouth will pay a visit to Niagara Field to open MAAC play on March 23 at 1 p.m. Two days later, the Purple Eagles will travel to Ann Arbor where they will face the Michigan Wolverines.
The 2018 MAAC champion Fairfield Stags come to Monteagle Ridge for a 12 p.m. match on March 30. The team’s next two games will be on the road, against Siena (April 3) and Quinnipiac (April 5).
After returning home to host Marist at 4 p.m. on April 10, the Purple Eagles return to the road for another pair of games, at Iona (April 13) and at Battle of the Bridge foe Canisius (April 17). Niagara closes out its season against the Manhattan Jaspers at home on April 20 at 1 p.m.
The 2019 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship begins with first-round games on Saturday Apr. 27. Two semifinal games will be played at the home field of the first-seeded team on Friday, May 3 with the championship game staged for Sunday, May 5.
Stone returns for her seventh season as the Purple Eagles’ head coach. She led the team to its third consecutive winning conference record (5-3), a feat which had never been accomplished at Niagara to that point. The team was part of a five-way tie for first place entering the final day of the 2018 regular season, ensuring a return to the playoffs for the fourth straight year. Amy Martin and Alice Mercer return for their third seasons as assistant coaches.
The Purple Eagles return four of their five All-MAAC honorees from a season ago: First Team All-MAAC attack Rachel MacCheyne, Second Team All-MAAC members Caroline Crump and Alexis Morales, and MAAC All-Rookie Team honoree Meghan Howe. MacCheyne is a second-year team captain and is joined by Crump and Hailey D’Hont.
VIEW THE FULL 2019 WOMEN’S LACROSSE SCHEDULE
