Live Stats

To start the month of March, the Niagara lacrosse team heads south to Florida for the final two games of a five-game road stretch. The week begins at noon tomorrow, when the Purple Eagles take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in Jacksonville, Florida. This will be the first all-time matchup between Niagara and Coastal Carolina.
 
Last Time Out
 

• Niagara is coming off its first win of the season, a commanding 13-7 road victory over the Robert Morris Colonials, on Friday, Feb. 26.
• The Purple Eagles' offense was dominant throughout, starting with a 3-0 run to open the game on goals from Caroline Crump, Taylor Wolf, and Grace Hunt in the opening four minutes.
• Robert Morris narrowed the deficit to 3-2, but Niagara struck back with a four-goal run of its own. A late Colonials goal brought the first period to an end with Niagara in front 7-3.
• Niagara wasted no time getting started in the second period. Wolf scored two goals in the first 11:26 of the period, with Rachel MacCheyne and Danielle Maio scoring in between the two, to push the Niagara lead to 11-3.
• The two teams then alternated goals, as Cailyn Negus and Jaclyn Schreiber tallied for Niagara to make it a 13-5 lead. Two goals in the closing three minutes by the Colonials closed the scoring for a 13-7 Purple Eagles victory.
• With two goals and three assists on the day, Crump tied with Sarah Arndt (1+4) for a game-high five points for Niagara. Wolf finished with four goals in total, giving her eight in three games.
• Defensively, Niagara limited Robert Morris to just 21 total shots, only 10 of which were on goal. Elizabeth Benedict led the way with three caused turnovers for the Purple Eagles.
• Andrea Francisco turned away five of the 10 shots on goal for the win. She totaled 17 saves between last Friday's win and an 11-10 overtime loss to Colgate on Feb. 23, with 16 goals being scored against her (7.92 goals-against average, .515 save percentage for the week).

 
Niagara Notes
 

• In goal, Francisco ranks second in the MAAC in goals-against average (7.24) while she is third in save percentage (.463). Those marks are good for 24th and 38th in the NCAA, respectively.
• Niagara is causing 8.67 turnovers per game, the best mark in the MAAC. The Purple Eagles finished last season third in the MAAC with 7.94 caused turnovers per game.
• Benedict leads the team with four caused turnovers, while Wolf and MacCheyne each have three this season.
• Francisco tied a career-high on Feb. 23 at Colgate with 12 saves.
• The six goals allowed to Binghamton on Feb. 20 was the lowest goal total by a Niagara opponent since the Purple Eagles held Detroit to four goals in a 14-4 win on Apr. 2, 2014.
• Taylor Wolf scored a hat trick in that win over Detroit as a freshman. That was the last time a Purple Eagles rookie scored three goals in a game before Alexis Morales did so at Binghamton.

 
Scouting the Chanticleers (0-2)
 

• Coastal Carolina has lost its first two games of the season, dropping a low-scoring affair 5-4 at Elon before falling 16-4 to Jacksonville on Feb. 28.
• Last season, Coastal Carolina finished 11-5 overall and earned a 5-2 record in the Big South conference, good for the third seed.
• Coastal Carolina fell in the semifinals of the Big South Tournament, falling 14-8 to second-seeded Liberty.
• Sarah Nolan leads the Chanticleers in scoring with six goals and one assist through two games.
• In goal, Jenna Stover has posted a 10.50 goals-against average and .563 save percentage for Coastal Carolina.

 
Next Appearance
 

• Niagara completes its time in Florida Friday evening, as the Purple Eagles prepare for a primetime matchup with the third-ranked Florida Gators. Faceoff on Mar. 4 is set for 6:30 p.m.

 
Stay connected with the Purple Eagles through social media. Follow Niagara Athletics on Twitter @NUPurpleEagles and for lacrosse updates, follow @NiagaraWLax. Check in with the Purple Eagles on Facebook.com/PurpleEagles and on Instagram @NUPurpleEagles.