AKRON, Ohio – Two goals by freshman forward Brittany Bisnott (Brampton, Ont.) paced the Niagara University women’s soccer team (1-0-0) to a 4-1 win over St. Francis (Pa.) University (0-1-0) at the Caroline Pardee Invitational at Lee Jackson Field, on the campus of the University of Akron, Friday. With the win, the Purple Eagles advanced to Sunday’s tournament championship against Akron at 3:30 p.m.

Bisnott opened the scoring for Niagara in the 20th minute, notching the first goal of her collegiate career and giving the Purple Eagles a 1-0 lead over the Red Flash.

After St. Francis tied the score minutes after Bisnott’s first tally, a heavy downpour and lightning delayed the contest for more than an hour, stopping the game with 17 minutes remaining in the first half.

With the players back on the field following the weather delay, sophomore forward Michelle Del Monte (Mississauga, Ont.) scored the go-ahead goal minutes before halftime. Del Monte beat a Red Flash defender in the St. Francis penalty area and finished the ball past goalkeeper Melanie Stockman.

Freshman defender Kaelyn Greenland (Aurora, Ont.) added the third goal for the Purple Eagles, heading the ball past Stockman off an Amber Niece (Port Colbourne, Ont.) corner kick.

Bisnott scored late in the contest to extend the margin to three goals.

Although scoring four goals, Purple Eagles head coach Peter Veltri remarked that his team’s offense could use improvement.

"It’s always good to get the first win of the season out of the way, however we were out of sync offensively," Veltri said. "We scrapped it out to get the win."

Both junior Katy Owings (Annapolis, Md.) and senior Melissa Himes (Fulton, N.Y.) saw times in goal for Niagara.

In Friday's other contest, Akron held on to defeat Indianapolis University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 2-1.

The Purple Eagles, who won the tournament in the 2002 season, are 1-0 lifetime against Akron.