Friday:
Live Stats /
Live VideoSunday:
Live Stats /
Live VideoNIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara women's lacrosse team heads out on a two-game road trip on Friday, Feb. 27 against Cincinnati and Sunday, March 1 at No. 10 Ohio State. Friday's contest against the Bearcats will begin at 3 p.m. while Sunday's matchup against the Buckeyes will start at 1 p.m.
The Purple Eagles will play at the Gettler Stadium at Cincinnati whereas Sunday's game at OSU will be played inside in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
DON'T MISS OUT• Live stats and live video for both games can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate link above.
NIAGARA TIDBITS• Niagara is 0-1 on the season after dropping a 14-7 decision at Lehigh last Sunday.
•
Taylor Wolf,
Hannah Barnett and
Danielle Maio led the team against Lehigh. Wolf pocketed four goals on the game, while Barnett scored a goal and dished out two assists. Maio also contributed a pair of tallies in the contest.
• Wolf's four goals are a new career high, topping her previous high of three goals which occurred on three different occasions last season.
•
Andrea Francisco was in between the pipes for game one. The sophomore made seven saves in 60 minutes of play, posting a goals against average of 14.00 and a save percentage of .333.
LAST TIME OUT• Niagara opened the 2015 season with a 14-7 loss to Lehigh on Sunday, Feb. 22.
• Three players scored for the Purple Eagles, including
Taylor Wolf,
Hannah Barnett and
Danielle Maio. Newcomers
Cailyn Negus and
Grace Hunt also contributed one assist apiece for the Purple and White. Sophomore goalkeeper Andrea Francisco made seven saves in net for Niagara in the game.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS• The University of Cincinnati started the 2015 season dropping a 14-5 home decision to No. 16 Notre Dame. The Bearcats then played a trio of road games against No. 13 Louisville, Detroit and Robert Morris. Cincinnati fell 17-8 to both the Cardinals and Titans before dropping a 20-7 decision to the Colonials on Feb. 22 to send their record to 0-4 on the young season.
• Cincinnati's offense has been led by Courtney Curtis in four games thus far, as the junior has 11 goals for 11 points. Brianna Miller has contributed five goals and one assist, while Michelle Platz has three points all coming off goals.
• Meg Gulmi leads the Bearcats' statistical board in groundballs picked up (11) while Skylar DeLemos leads the team in draw controls won (13). Kyara Byner tops the team in caused turnovers (6).
• Gulmi and Alex MacAffer have each seen time in net for Cincinnati in their four contests. Gulmi, who has started all four games, has 35 saves on the season and a 19.09 goals against average and a .361 save percentage. MacAffer has made two saves in 45 minutes of play for a 8.00 goals against average and a .250 save percentage.
ALL-TIME VS. CINCINNATI • Friday's game will be the third time the two sides face each other with the all-time series record standing at 1-1.
• In their last meeting on March 1, 2014, the Purple Eagles defeated Cincinnati, 12-6, to earn its first victory over the Bearcats.
Taylor Wolf (three goals) and
Erin Patenaude (two goals; one assist) collected three points each on the afternoon, while
Carrie-Jo Farrugia and
Kayla Smith each contributed two goals in the outing.
• In their first meeting on March 5, 2013, Niagara led a majority of the game, but could not hold onto its lead, eventually dropping a close 12-11 decision to the Cincinnati Bearcats in the final three seconds of the contest at Nippert Stadium. Three Purple Eagles each tallied two goals in the balanced Niagara attack, including
Kayla Smith,
Danielle Maio and Fran Pollastro, while
Brittany Delano led Niagara with a trio of goals.
Carrie-Jo Farrugia also pocketed two points with a goal and an assist.
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES• The Buckeyes opened the season with home wins over Detroit (19-4) and Binghamton (18-5) before posting road wins at Winthrop (20-12) and Virginia Tech (14-7). The Buckeyes are ranked No. 10 in the IWLCA Top 20 poll.
• Ohio State leads the Big Ten in several statistical categories early on, including goals per game (17.7), assists (8.0), ground balls (19.0), points (25.7), shots (35.5) and shots-on-goal (29.2), among others.
• Ohio State has 15 players with at least one goal this season, led by Katie Chase who leads the Big Ten with 18 goals on the season and also is tied for the team lead with eight ground balls and leads with 15 draw controls. Jackie Cifarelli leads OSU with 21 points and is second in the Big Ten with 15 assists. She also has six goals on the year. Cian Dabrowski and Rainey Hodgson are third and fourth, respectively, in points for the Buckeyes while Mary Kate Facchina also has double-digit points with 11 on nine goals and two assists.
• Defensively, Tori DeScenza is second in the Big Ten with a .562 save percentage. She has 27 saves on the year.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING• This will be the first meeting between the Buckeyes and Purple Eagles.
ON DECK• After its tilt against the Buckeyes, Niagara will head south on a two-game road trip starting with No. 4 Florida on March 7 in Gainesville, FL and wrapping up on March 11 at Stetson.
