NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Nicholas Watson scored three goals in the second half and overtime to erase an early 2-0 deficit and give the Niagara Purple Eagles the 3-2 upset win over the Iona Gaels on Saturday at Niagara Field.
 
"I'm extremely proud of the effort the group put forth today," head coach Eric Barnes said. "We leaned heavily on some younger guys, and the entire team did a great job stepping up to the challenge."
 
Watson's first tally came just over five minutes into the second half. Niagara found itself trailing 2-0 after Iona controlled the first half, but Julian Ekeze got control of the ball wide on the right wing and sent a cross into Watson just inside the 18-yard box. The sophomore did not miss as he smashed the cross inside the left post.
 
Niagara tied the game 16 minutes later after Watson stole the ball while in a crowd at the top of the 18-yard box and found a small space before the turned and fired a shot that curled into the top left corner of the net in the 67^th minute.
 
"Nicky Watson did a fantastic job finishing his opportunities in a variety of scenarios," Barnes said. "All season, we've played good soccer but have been on the wrong end of several results.  Hopefully, this will be the turning point we need going into the last four matches of conference play."
 
After being outshot 8-6 in the opening half, Niagara poured on the pressure in the second to outshoot the visiting Gaels 10-2. The game headed into overtime where Iona would regain the shot advantage, but it didn't matter much as NU made the final shot of the match count.
 
Ekeze striped an Iona defender at midfield and went in on a long 2-on-1 with Watson. He waited until the defender committed before sending a pass to his teammate and Watson completed the hat-trick with a shot that found the bottom left corner of the net to give his squad the 3-2 win.
 
Steve Casey got the start in net for Niagara and made three saves on the afternoon. Watson scored on all three shots on goal he recorded while Ekeze earned two assists coming off of the bench.
 
"Today was a character defining game for us," said Barnes. "We had to get a result and put ourselves in a hole early. The team showed great resolve to battle back in the second half to tie the match."
 
Niagara is back in action Saturday, Oct. 25 when it travels to Fairfield, Connecticut to take on the Stage. Kick-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.