ANN ARBOR, Mich. – In their first matchup since the opening round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, the Niagara Purple Eagles fell to the Michigan Wolverines in double overtime on Sunday afternoon, 2-1.  
 
Freshman forward Alex Dimitriu opened the scoring for Niagara with his first goal as a Purple Eagle in the 23rd minute. After receiving a pass from senior midfielder Fabrizio Chiari, Dimitriu sent a lob shot off his right foot from 25 yards out to beat Michigan keeper Evan Louro.
 
Michigan nearly got the equalizer in the early minutes of the second half, but the attempt by Marcello Borges rattled off the crossbar in the 47^th minute. Another chance by Lars Eckenrode in the 61^st minute found the post, keeping Michigan off the scoreboard. NU continued to hold the 1-0 advantage until the 71^st minute, when the Wolverines tied it up on a header by Ivo Cerda that once again went off the post, but this time the ball ended up in the back of net.   
 
The Purple Eagles looked to nab the game winner in the final minutes of regulation, but the header in the 85^th minute by Bautista Pedezert was stopped by the Wolverines' keeper, sending the contest into overtime.
 
After a scoreless first overtime, Michigan registered the game-winner just over a minute into the second overtime period, as the Wolverines' James Murphy took the free kick from Rylee Woods and put a header into the net.   
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Joel Gerberich had a season-high five saves in the match.  
 
Niagara (0-4-0) is back on the pitch on Friday, Sept. 11 when it travels to Newark, New Jersey to square off with the New Jersey Institute of Technology at 7 p.m.
 
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