ST. PAUL, MINN. – The Purple and White fell to 0-2 on the young season with a 7-0 loss at St. Thomas (1-1) Saturday afternoon in non-conference women’s soccer action.
How it Happened
St. Thomas struck first Saturday morning after a Niagara penalty led to a PK goal for the Tommies just six minutes into the contest. The Purple Eagles would get a good look moments later as Isabella Mazzaferro put the Tommie goalie to work for the first time in the contest at the eight-minute mark.
Mazzaferro would slot a pass toward the middle for Amanda Cripps in the 11th minute, but the senior striker had her left footed attempt blocked by the St. Thomas back line. A few minutes later, Cripps would nearly connect with Maia MacLean for the equalizer, but the juniors shot was stopped by the Tommie keeper.
St. Thomas would take a 2-0 lead over Niagara in the 25th minute after three near-perfect passes left a Tommie unmarked on the near side, beating a diving Felicia Grufman for the goal.
With 11 minutes to go in the first half, St. Thomas would take a 3-0 lead over the Purple and White, beating Grufman inside the far post and with a minute left MacLean would send a pass from Emily Hähnel over the goal, attempting to cut into the St. Thomas advantage.
The second half started with a pair of goals in the first five minutes for the Tommies, giving St. Thomas a commanding 5-0 lead over the Purple Eagles.
Niagara’s top chance in the opening portion of the second half came on a free kick from Hähnel, but the opportunity to get NU on the board came up empty. Mazzaferro would attempt a shot in the 85th minute, but her left footed attempt was blocked, keeping NU off the board.
The Tommies would add two more tallies, including one in the final three minutes of action to make it a 7-0 contest.
Niagara Notes
• Saturday’s contest with the Tommies was the first in program history.
• After putting just one shot on target in the season opener with Minnesota on Thursday, Niagara recorded five shots on goal Saturday against St. Thomas.
• The Purple and White have been outscored 12-1 in its first two games of the season.
• The seven goal loss matches the largest margin of defeat in program history, matching the seven goal difference in an 8-1 loss to Monmouth during the 1997 season.
Up Next
• Niagara returns to Western New York and Monteagle Ridge to open the home portion of its schedule with a Thursday night matchup at Niagara Field against visiting St. Francis. Kickoff between NU and SFU is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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