WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – The Niagara women's soccer team had its six-game unbeaten run come to an end on Saturday in a 3-1 defeat to MAAC preseason favorite Monmouth.

"Today was not our best performance," head coach Peter Veltri said.  "After a poor first half, I thought we settled down and played much better in the second half.  We need to take this defeat and learn from it. We need to realize that we can play, and that we can beat anyone if we play our game."

Niagara (6-2-3, 2-1-1 MAAC) suffered its first defeat since Sept. 7 and its first road loss of the season. Sophomore Naomi Giovino scored a consolation goal in the 88th minute for her first career goal.

Monmouth (8-4-0, 3-1-0 MAAC) took a 1-0 lead after 31 minutes. Keeper Claire Feiertagstopped Alexa Freguletti's shot, but was unable to keep out the rebound which was put in by Alexis McTamney. Monmouth held an 11-4 advantage in shots and 8-2 advantage in corner kicks in the first half.  The Hawks added a second in the 78th minute and a third in the 83rd for a 3-0 lead.

NU wraps up its three-game road trip on Wednesday against Siena at 3 p.m.