Live Stats / Live Video

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara women's lacrosse team travels to New Rochelle, NY to face Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponent Iona on Saturday, Mar. 28 at 1 p.m.
 
DON'T MISS OUT
•   Live stats and live video for Saturday's game against the Gaels will be available.  To access live stats or live video, please click on the appropriate link above.

NIAGARA TIDBITS
• Niagara enters Saturday's contest 3-7, having won its first game of the season on Friday, Feb. 27 against Cincinnati after dropping a 14-7 decision to Lehigh in the season-opener. Despite keeping the score at 1-0 for the first 20 minutes of the contest and holding the No. 14 Ohio State to its third least number of goals scored in a game all year, the Purple Eagles fell in a 15-2 decision to the Buckeyes on Mar. 1.
• Niagara then dropped a 21-4 decision to the No. 4 Florida Gators on Mar. 7 before edging Stetson, 10-9. The Purple Eagles fell to the Michigan Wolverines, 15-8, on Mar. 14 before taking down Little 3 Rival St. Bonaventure, 16-12. NU fell in a two close decisions to Robert Morris (12-10) and Binghamton (9-7). Most recently, Niagara dropped its first conference matchup to the Monmouth Hawks, 12-7.
• The Purple Eagles offense runs through seniors Carrie-Jo Farrugia and Erin Patenaude as well as sophomore Taylor Wolf.  Farrugia leads the squad with 19 goals and seven assists, while her teammates Patenaude (11 goals, eight assists) and Wolf (13 goals, three assists) are second and third on the team in points, respectively. 
• Hannah Barnett and Molly Gray have also chipped in on offense for the Purple Eagles. Barnett has eight goals and four assists while Gray stands with seven goals and three assists on the season thus far.
• Danielle Maio leads the way with 28 draw controls won, while Barnett has caused nine turnovers for the Purple and White. 
• Andrea Francisco has played just under 460 minutes after the 10 games this season, making 54 saves for a 2-5-0 record. Amanda Yavorek made a career best eight saves in NU's loss to Ohio State. Overall, the sophomore has made 15 saves in 140 minutes of play, posting a goals against average of 13.26 and a save percentage of .326.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Purple Eagles were defeated by Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foe Monmouth, 12-7, on Mar. 25 at Niagara Field in the team's first league game of the season.
• Senior attacker Erin Patenaude recorded two goals while fellow senior Hannah Barnett and freshman Jillian Ford each added one goal and one helper. Carrie-Jo Farrugia, Taylor Wolf and Cailyn Negus all finished with one goal apiece to contribute to the Niagara offense.
• Freshman Alexandra Higgins led all players with six draw controls while also picking up three ground balls for NU.
• Sophomore Andrea Francisco made six saves in the Niagara cage while her counterparts combined for seven. The Purple Eagles held a 13-8 advantage over Monmouth in draw controls won, while the Hawks took a slight edge in shots (24-21) and ground balls (24-21).

ABOUT IONA
• Iona is coming off a close 12-11 loss to Marist on March 25. The Gaels are 2-4 at home and have scored a total of 92 goals in nine games overall this season. More than one quarter of those scores have come from sophomore Erin Pugh, who is the MAAC's leading scorer with 27 goals. Junior Mary Kate McCormick is atop the conference with 19 assists and an average of 2.12 assists per game.
• Senior goalie Blaire Nathanson was named Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week on March 11 and has made 89 saves this season, the most in the MAAC.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST THE GAELS
•  The Gaels command a 8-2 all-time record against the Purple Eagles, including wins in the previous seven meetings after Niagara beat its conference rival in the opening two contests of the series that began in 2005.
• Last season Iona handed Niagara a 13-11 loss at Niagara Field on April 12.  The Purple Eagles' Erin Patenaude and Carrie-Jo Farrugia each tallied a pair of goals, while Brittany Delano added a score in the defeat.  Andrea Francisco stopped 11 Iona shots on goal.
 
ON DECK
• The Purple Eagles will begin a two-game home stand Saturday, Apr. 4 against Fairfield in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.  The Purple Eagles and Stags square off at Niagara Field at 12 p.m. 

Stay connected with the Purple Eagles through social media. Follow Niagara Athletics on Twitter @NUPurpleEagles and for in-game updates @NiagaraWLAX. Check in with the Purple Eagles on Facebook/PurpleEagles and on Instagram @NUPurpleEagles.