Women's Soccer 10/31/2014 10:30:00 AM

Women's Soccer Hosts Canisius In MAAC Tournament Saturday

Live Stats | Live Video | Digital Program

Niagara women's soccer will begin its postseason play at home against Battle of the Bridge rival Canisius in the 2014 MAAC Women's Soccer Championship First Round on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 5:00 p.m. at Niagara Field.

Admission Information

The ticket price will be $5 for general admission.
Admission is free for children three years old and under.
Admission is free for Niagara University and Canisius College students with I.D.

How to Catch the Games

Saturday's contest will be streamed live via MAAC.TV.
Live stats for the game can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate link above.

Purple Eagles 101

Following the 4-0 win over Marist in the regular season finale on Wednesday, the Purple Eagles finished as the third seed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with 21 points and a 6-1-3 conference record.
The Purple Eagles are unbeaten in their last six matches (4-0-2).
Senior Haillie Price leads the team with six goals on the year, with three of those being game winners.
Junior Hayley Besaw leads the Purple Eagles with six assists on the season. The Youngstown, N.Y. native is also tied for second on the team in points (8) for the season with Eva Bachmann and Catherine Meyer.
Bachmann has the second most goals on the team with three on the year while Meyer, fellow seniors Danielle Kennedy and Kiley Titus, sophomore Naomi Giovino and freshman Laura Ortiz and are tied for third with two goals apiece. Besaw, senior Courtney Pierce and junior Bianca Marrara have all contributed a goal on the year.
Junior goalkeeper Claire Feiertag has logged a career-high eight solo shutouts on the year, coming against Drexel, Duquesne, Cleveland State, Robert Morris, Canisius, Siena, St. Peter's, and Fairfield.
Also contributing to the team's success on the year, is the defensive presence of Kennedy along with fellow senior Maureen Papaconstantinou and sophomore Amanda Gallo.
The starting defensive trio, along with graduate student Chelsea Doughty, has shutdown opposing team's shooting opportunities; allowing an average of 3.95 shots per game, which is the second fewest in the conference.

Entering the Record Books

Feiertag is tied for first place in single-season shutouts with nine solo shutouts on the year. The record was set by Katy Owings in 2002.

She is also third all-time with 12 career shutouts, three shy of the record set by Ashleigh Bowers from 2007-10.
Her 0.66 goals against average on the year is currently second in Niagara women's soccer history. Ashleigh Bowers currently holds the record with 0.63 goals against average, which was set in 2010.
NU's eight home wins ties a program best, while its 5-0-0 home record in MAAC play is a new program mark.

In the Conference

Feiertag has four shutouts in conference play this season, tied in second with Fairfield's Kathleen Early and Siena's Taylor Booth.
Price's three game-winning goals are good for a tie for second in the MAAC. The Ancaster, Ont. native's game-winning goals came in the team's season-opening 3-1 victory at St. Bonaventure on Aug. 27, the 2-1 win over Binghamton on Sept. 12 and the 1-0 triumph over Robert Morris on Sept. 18.
Besaw's six assists on the season are good for second in the MAAC but the junior sits at the top with an average of .43 assists per game.
Feiertag is second in the MAAC with eight shutouts on the year. The Ridgeway, Ont. native is first in the conference with a 0.66 goals against average and second with a .833 save percentage.

Purple Eagles In The MAAC Tournament

Since the 1999 season, Niagara is 5-10-0 in conference tournament play.
The Purple Eagles have been to the MAAC Tournament Championship Game four times since 1992, going 1-3 in that span.
Niagara lost to Loyola in 2003 and 2009, and Fairfield in 2005, though came out with the victory against Siena in 2006 for the program's first league championship.

On the Pitch: Canisius (6-13-0, 5-5-0 MAAC)

The Golden Griffins finished sixth in the conference with a 5-5-0 MAAC mark and a 6-13-0 overall record.
Niagara and Canisius' last meeting was earlier this season on Oct. 1 when Niagara defeated the Griffs 1-0. The Purple Eagles scored the only goal of the game on a shot by Laura Ortiz. 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.
With that win, Niagara improved to 10-1-2 against Canisius in their 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 leads the all-time series 24-18-2 over Canisius. The Purple Eagles and the Griffs met in the first round of the 2013 MAAC Championships in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., with Canisius claiming a 1-0 victory to move onto the semifinal round.
On the year, Canisius is 2-8-0 on the road. The Purple Eagles sport an impressive home record on the year at 8-1-1.

MAAC Championship Continued

The winners of the first round games on Saturday will advance to the semifinal round on Nov. 7, with the overall number one seed (Monmouth) as the host.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Hayley Besaw: M; 5' 3"; Junior

#17 Chelsea Doughty: D; 5' 8"; Graduate Student; D

#1 Claire Feiertag: GK; 5' 7"; Junior

#15 Amanda Gallo: M; 5' 3"; Sophomore

#14 Naomi Giovino: M; 5' 6"; Sophomore

#24 Bianca Marrara: D; 5' 3"; Junior

#9 Maureen Papaconstantinou: D; 5' 5"; Senior

#23 Courtney Pierce: M; 5' 6"; Senior

#20 Haillie Price: F/D; 5' 10"; Senior

#12 Eva Bachmann: F; 5' 4"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#4 Hayley Besaw
: 5' 3"; Junior
: M

#17 Chelsea Doughty
: 5' 8"; Graduate Student; D
: D

#1 Claire Feiertag
: 5' 7"; Junior
: GK

#15 Amanda Gallo
: 5' 3"; Sophomore
: M

#14 Naomi Giovino
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: M

#24 Bianca Marrara
: 5' 3"; Junior
: D

#9 Maureen Papaconstantinou
: 5' 5"; Senior
: D

#23 Courtney Pierce
: 5' 6"; Senior
: M

#20 Haillie Price
: 5' 10"; Senior
: F/D

#12 Eva Bachmann
: 5' 4"; Freshman
: F