NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – In a battle of undefeated MAAC sides, the Manhattan Jaspers topped the Niagara Purple Eagles, 1-0, at Niagara Field on Saturday afternoon to snap the Purple Eagles' four-game winning streak.
"We are disappointed with today's result," said head coach
Peter Veltri. "Offensively we just didn't create enough opportunities to give us a chance to be successful. We need to play better moving forward".
Niagara (6-4-2, 4-1-0) nearly scored the game's first goal when sophomore midfielder
Sophie Connor hit the left post after a
Kori Thorne corner kick trickled into the far side of the box. A back-and-forth first half saw Niagara hold the majority of possession and not allow a shot on goal, but the Purple Eagles weren't able to sneak their own two shots on goal past the Manhattan keeper.
The Jaspers (8-3-1, 4-0-1) were able to grab the game-winning goal just minutes into the second half. In the 50th minute, midfielder Nicole Copping took possession into the box, held off her defender and laid a ball across to an oncoming Lizzy Carlson, who tucked her finish inside the right post.
Niagara would not go down without a fight, as the Purple Eagles gave Manhattan all it could handle in the last few minutes.
Claire Feiertag locked down and denied a one-on-one Jasper attempt in the 84th minute to keep Niagara in the game. With five minutes left, an
Eva Bachmann cross just missed
Amanda Gallo's head on a threatening cross far post.
In the 87th minute, Thorne set in another dangerous set piece with her corner just missing a Purple Eagle on the finishing end. Sophomore
Kelsey Lafferty's long range effort was pushed just wide with 40 seconds left for Niagara's final scoring opportunity of the day.
Niagara nearly doubled Manhattan's shot total, leading the category 17 to nine, and had five shots on goal compared to four for the Jaspers.
The Purple Eagles hit the road for their next game at Rider on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 1:30 pm.
Stay connected with the Purple Eagles through social media. Follow Niagara Athletics on Twitter
@NUPurpleEagles and for women's soccer updates at
@NiagaraWSO. Check in with the Purple Eagles on
Facebook/PurpleEagles and on Instagram
@NUPurpleEagles.
