POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Junior goalkeeper Ashleigh Bowers (Liverpool, N.Y.) set a new career-high with her fourth clean sheet of the season, as the Niagara women's soccer team (8-7-1, 4-3-0 MAAC) defeated the Marist Red Foxes (6-8-2, 3-4-1 MAAC) on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

"Coming into today's game, we knew it was a very important game for us," head coach Peter Veltri said. "We hung tough and I'm proud of the way the girls bounced back today."

Bowers made one save in earning the shutout victory, with freshman Jamie Raepple (Grand Island, N.Y.) giving Niagara the offensive power it needed to win. Raepple was able to notch her ffifth goal of the season in the 69th minute, after she received a nice pass from senior Chiara Greco (Hamilton, Ont.). The assist gave Greco her 44th career point, surpassing Jenny Messner for 10th on Niagara's all-time points list.    

"The weather conditions were poor and it was a sloppy and ugly game," Veltri said. "We capitalized on an opportunity and were able to come out with the victory."

The Purple Eagles came out strong in the first half, peppering Red Fox goalkeeper Jamie Balzarini with five shots, but no goals. Freshman Julianne Viviano (North Syracuse, N.Y.) had two quality scoring opportunities for Niagara, but couldn't convert, heading into halftime scoreless.

Niagara concludes the regular season when it hosts Fairfield on Friday at 7 p.m. and Iona at 11 a.m. on Sunday.