NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – The Niagara University women’s lacrosse team (5-4, 1-3) gave up a goal with 1:23 remaining in regulation, allowing Marist (4-7, 3-2) to earn the 9-8 win in Sunday’s back-and-forth Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference contest.

"It was a hard-fought game," head coach Anne Windover said. "Both teams played hard and we just came up short at the end."

Niagara, down 8-6 with 9:46 remaining in regulation, rallied to score two goals and tie the game at 8-8 at the 2:24 mark. Senior Ashley Baker (Henrietta, N.Y.) provided the assist to sophomore Liz Johnson (Cortland, N.Y.) for the team’s eighth goal of the game.

After a Marist defensive stop, freshman Lindsey Diener charged down the field to score the game-winning goal with 1:23 remaining. The goal was her third of the game.

The Purple Eagles had the 4-3 lead after the first 30 minutes of play. Freshman Emma-Lee Harrison (Lakefield, Ont.) tallied two of her four goals in the first half, including the team’s fourth goal with just16 seconds left in the half.

In the second half, the team’s traded goals up to the 16:19 mark when Marist registered three-straight goals to take the 8-6 lead.

Niagara freshman goalkeeper Whitney Gill (Canandaigua, N.Y.) made six saves in 46:02, while teammate Kristin Engel (Plainview, N.Y.) suffers the loss with three saves in 13:58. Marist goalkeeper, Heather Ripp, made five saves, playing the full 60 minutes.

Niagara returns to its home field for a Wednesday match-up against Canisius beginning at 4 p.m. The game marks the last home contest for the Purple Eagle seniors, including Baker, Rachel Jones (Tonawanda, N.Y.), Marissa Muldoon (Auburn, N.Y.) and Courtney Dowd (Wall, N.J.).