Box Score

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - The Niagara women's soccer team (6-9-1; 4-2-1 MAAC) inched closer to a berth into the 2011 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament with a come from behind 1-1 tie against the host Siena Saints (7-6-3; 2-3-3 MAAC) on Sunday afternoon.

Down 1-0 in the second half, the Purple Eagles would tie the game off the foot of Kayla Picanco, when she received a pass from Julianne Viviano and ripped a shot that beat Booth to the far post.

Both teams applied pressure throughout the rest of the game and both overtime sessions, but the game ended in a 1-1 draw. The Niagara tie gives them 13 points, good for a second place tie with Iona, who the Purple Eagles will host on Friday in a critical MAAC game.

"This was a hard earned point today," head coach Peter Veltri said. "We fought back from a 1-0 deficit and had chances to in it. I thought we bounced back pretty well from Friday night's loss. Hopefully, we will have a good week of practice to prepare for our last home weekend."

Niagara had a few chances to take a lead in the first half, but were unable to cash in on the opportunities. Viviano ripped a shot on net just 31 seconds into the game, but Saints goalkeeper Taylor Booth was up to the task. In the later part of the opening half, Jamie Raepple had an great chance to dent the scoreboard, but was foiled by Booth.

On the other side of the field, Niagara goalkeeper Gabrielle Wilson was just as impressive, making two saves during the opening 45 minutes to keep the game scoreless.   

Coreena D'Alfonso gave Siena a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute, when she capitalized on a corner kick from Lindsay Tegas that eluded Wilson.

Niagara wraps up the regular season next weekend, hosting Iona on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Fairfield on Sunday at noon.