BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Niagara Purple Eagles continued their recent upper hand in the series with archrival Canisius while extending their unbeaten run to six matches with a 1-0 win on Wednesday night.

The Purple Eagles (6-1-2, 2-0-1 MAAC) dominated play in the first half and made key stops in the second half to preserve the win. Niagara improved to 10-1-2 against Canisius (2-10-0, 1-2-0 MAAC) in the last 13 meetings and is 5-0-1 at Canisius since 2001. NU also earned the first points (2) in the 2014-15 edition of the Battle of the Bridge series.

Niagara took a well-deserved lead into the break. The Purple Eagles dominated possession and created great chances, especially on corner kicks, throughout the opening 45 minutes. Niagara had its first scoring opportunity in the 8th minute from a corner kick when Laura Ortiz had her shot in the box blocked by a defender and the follow up shot by Hayley Besaw went over the crossbar. In the 20th minute, Naomi Giovino hit a low shot far post which was saved and Besaw's follow up was blocked. In the 33rd minute, Chelsea Doughty had a thunderous header from a corner kick saved

NU finally broke through in the 39th minute. Eva Bachmann beat her defender at the top of the box and unleashed a shot far post which beat the keeper, but hit the post. However, Ortiz pounced on the rebound for her first career goal.

In the second half, the Golden Griffins began to apply pressure on the Niagara defense. Five minutes into the half, a shot by Mallory Illsley missed high. However, Canisius' best opportunity came in the 55th minute. Sabrina Fitzgerald was through on goal, but keeper Claire Feiertag stood tall and saved her shot. Niagara nearly made it 2-0 in the 75th when Danielle Kennedy had a header on net from a free kick, but was saved the Canisius keeper. NU defense limited Canisius' chances in the final minutes of the game.

"This was a typical Niagara vs. Canisius game, where no points are given for attractive soccer," head coach Peter Veltri said. "It's always going to be a battle and chances are going to be limited. You have to play smart and be patient. Tonight, we accomplished both and came away with a well-deserved victory."

The Purple Eagles continue their three-game road trip on Saturday against Monmouth at 1 p.m.