Hamden, Conn. – Senior
Erin Patenaude, junior
Molly Gray and sophomore
Taylor Wolf each tallied a hat trick en route to a 16-11 triumph over the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday afternoon.
"Today was a great team win," head coach
Wendy Stone said. "We found a way to get ourselves back into the game and finished plays on both ends of the field. However, we do need to play cleaner going forward."
Quinnipiac's Kyra Ochwat put the Bobcats (2-12, 1-5) on the board first, but Gray tallied the next goal for Niagara (5-9, 2-3 MAAC) to make it a 1-1 game.
The Bobcats then jumped out on a 3-0 run to take a 4-1 lead with 13:07 remaining in the opening half.
Danielle Maio ended QU's scoring run off an unassisted goal at the 9:32 mark. Niagara outscored Quinnipiac 4-3 in the final nine minutes of the first stanza and headed into intermission trailing, 7-6.
Niagara scored the first four points in the second thirty minutes of play which highlighted goals from Wolf,
Hannah Barnett, Patenaude and
Carrie-Jo Farrugia as well as assists from
Grace Hunt, Gray and Maio. Quinnipiac cut NU's control to two before the Purple Eagles went on another run to command a 13-8 lead.
The teams traded goals in the remaining six minutes of the contest as Niagara rallied back to claim the 16-11 victory.
Patenaude finished the game with a career-high four goals as Gray added three assists to her three-goal effort. Wolf had three goals on the afternoon while Maio and Barnett both totaled a pair of goals. Freshman
Jillian Ford and Farrugia each added a goal in the win while Hunt and Maio contributed two assists.
Sophomore
Amanda Yavorek made six saves for the win while
Andrea Francisco pushed aside three Bobcats shots.
The Purple Eagles' defense was led by sophomore
Kara Martin who collected a team-high four ground balls in the victory. Farrugia caused a team-high three turnovers, while Maio was the team-leader in draw controls, with seven.
Niagara returns to the field on Wednesday, April 15 in a in a conference clash against cross-town rival Canisius at 7 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.