MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The Niagara women's lacrosse team fell to non-conference opponent Robert Morris in its season opener, 16-13, on Saturday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium.  The loss drops Niagara's record to 0-1 on the young season, while RMU improves to 1-0 on the year.

Freshmen Taylor Wolf pocketed a three-goal afternoon in her debut in the Purple and White, while fellow newcomers Hannah Barnett and Erin Patenaude also had impressive starts to their Niagara careers, as Barnett netted a pair of goals and Patenaude added three points off two goals and an assist. 

Returnees Carrie-Jo Farrugia  and Maria Battista also potted two goals apiece for the Purple Eagles, while Kayla Smith (1-0-1) and Danielle Maio (1-1-2) combined to contribute two goals and a helper on the afternoon. 

Starting senior goalie Paige Sasser made two saves during her brief outing, while freshman Andrea Francisco turned away three shots in 38 minutes of action.    

"Today was a place to start for us. Though we came up short in the end, we saw a lot of good things on the field, many in unexpected places," head coach Wendy Stone said.  "We will get back to work on Monday, and we will work to be better next time out."
 
Robert Morris kicked off the scoring bout with Brittany Byerly's first of three goals of the game just 36 seconds into the action; however Niagara was quick to even up the score courtesy of Battista.  After the Colonials netted the next pair of goals to take a 3-1 lead, the squads traded goals to make it 4-3 in favor of RMU, with Battista and Maio finding the net for the Purple and White.

Jessica Karwacki, Jessica Rutherford and Byerly combined for a trio of goals in a span of a minute to grab a four-goal lead with 15:50 remaining in the first half, but Wolf halted the run with her first career goal off a free position shot.  The Colonials countered with another two tallies, but Niagara rattled off two consecutive goals of its own before the break via Farrugia and Patenaude, bringing the halftime score to 9-6.

Smith and Wolf opened the second period with a goal each to make it a one-goal game with 26:07 left in the contest, but RMU added to its lead as Karawacki scored her fourth and fifth goals of the game in a 11 second span to regain its three-goal advantage.   Niagara and Robert Morris each score the game's next two goals as the score ran to 12-9 with 24:01 left to play, however NU would go on a 4-1 run in the next 12 minutes to even the game with 10:55 remaining in regulation.  The Colonials halted the Purple Eagles' momentum after Farrugia scored the game-tying goal as a trio of RMU players combined to score the contest's final three goals to regain its lead and hold on for the victory.

Niagara returns to its non-conference schedule when it hosts Cincinnati in its first home game of the season on Saturday, March 1 at 3 p.m.