LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Senior Matt Durand (Melbourne, Australia) notched his 11th goal of the season in the 52nd minute of the game, but it wasn't enough as the Niagara men's soccer team (8-4-2; 2-2-0 MAAC) dropped a 2-1 decision to the Siena Saints (6-6-1; 4-1-0 MAAC) on Friday afternoon.

The Saints would tie the game in the 74th minute, when Robert DiFilippo would beat goalkeeper John Fiutowski (Ottawa, Ont.). Just 12 minutes later, DiFilippo had an encore performance, beating Fiutowski with just a few minutes to spare in the game for the 2-1 lead.

In a game pitting two of the top teams in the MAAC, head coach Dermot McGrane saw his team battle hard, but ultimately lost a game they could have won.

"For the majority of the game, we played well and kept possession of the ball," McGrane said. "But some sloppy defending combined with a couple of quality shots from Siena in the last fifteen minutes cost us the game. We now need to regroup and get ready to play Marist on Sunday."

The first half was a tight game, with both teams exchanging rushes. One of Niagara's best chances came in the 30th minute, as Levi Tesch (Wolcott, N.Y.) had his shot blocked, before Zach Scholla  (Angelica, N.Y.) took control of the ball and sailed a ball wide of the net. There was no score at the half, with Niagara outshot 6-5.

Niagara would draw first blood early in the second half. After a shot by Tesch, a Siena foul called for a Niagara penalty kick, to be taken by Durand, who entered the game fourth in the nation in points per game. Durand would beat Steve Skonieczny on the penalty kick to take the 1-0 advantage.

Fiutowski made four saves on the day for the Purple Eagles.

The Purple Eagles will now travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on the Marist Red Foxes at 1 p.m. on Sunday.