NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara women's soccer team defeated archrival the Canisius Golden Griffins, 2-1, in front of 512 spectators at Niagara Field on Saturday night.

"I’m very happy for our seniors for getting the victory over our rival," head coach Peter Veltri said. "I know they placed a lot of emphasis on this game." 

Niagara (6-4-1, 1-2-0 MAAC) improved to 3-0-1 at home en route to picking up its first conference win of the season. Niagara struck early in the first Battle of the Bridge game with Canisius (8-5-0, 2-1-0 MAAC) when  Chelsea Spencer found Adrianna Gallo at the top of box and she placed her shot to the inside near post to give the Purple Eagles a 1-0 in the seventh minute. Goalkeeper Ashleigh Bowers, who made six saves on the night, had a key save in the 23rd minute when she tipped Laura Ellis close range effort over the bar.

In the 58th minute, a deflected pass to Canisius' Jenny Griffin allowed her to beat Bowers in the box to tie the game at 1-1 and putting the game in the balance. The Purple Eagles got the game winner from senior defender Erin Baker when her cross into the box was deflected off of a defender and landed in the net. The Purple Eagles defense held the Golden Griffins to few scoring chances in the last 10 minutes to seal the win.  

"I’m extremely proud of the way the team fought tonight," Veltri said. "I think we were a little timid in the first half, but I thought we relax in the second half and played much better." 

Niagara is back in action when it hosts Marist on Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.