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The Niagara Purple Eagles kick off their season by hosting the Michigan State Spartans on Friday, Aug. 21 at 3 p.m.

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• Head coach Peter Veltri returns for his 17^th season in charge.
• Niagara returns 13 letterwinners from last season's team that went 11-2-6 and advanced to the 2014 MAAC Tournament Semifinals.
• Senior keeper Claire Feiertag set tied two single season records last season with a 0.63 GAA and with nine shutouts.
• Major contributors returning this season are Haillie Price (led team with six goals and 14 points), Eva Bachman, Hayley Besaw, Laura Ortiz, Naomi Giovino, Shawnique Samuels, Amelia Gulley and Amanda Gallo.

Preseason MAAC Honors

• Senior Haillie Price was named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team. Price, who earned 2014 All-MAAC Second Team honors, led NU with six goals including a team-best three game-winning goals, and with 14 points.
• The Purple Eagles received 78 points to be placed fourth in the poll.

Fresh Faces

• NU welcomes eight newcomers to the program: Courtney Betts, Morgan Genovese, Tuesday Jordan, Assia Sidhoum, Elena Sullivan, Kristina Vassallo, Cassi Zimmerman and Shania van Nuland.

Protect This House

• Since opening the new Niagara Field for the 2008 season, the Purple Eagles are 35-21-5 in home matches
• Last season, NU set a program record with a 9-1-1 home mark, including going 6-0-0 in MAAC matches

Across The Pitch: Michigan State Spartans (0-0-0, 0-0-0 B1G)

• MSU was picked 12^th in the Big Ten Preseason Poll.
• Senior defenders Mary Kathryn Fiebernitz and Alex Gjonaj and sophomore forward Jamie Cheslik were named to the preseason players to watch list.  

Against The Big Ten

• NU has faced only one team from the Big Ten Conference.
• The Purple Eagles faced Penn State in the 2006 NCAA Tournament First Round, falling 3-1 in the program's lone appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

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.