NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – For the second time in six days, the Purple Eagles lacrosse team earned a one-goal victory on home field. Freshman attack Caroline Crump broke out offensively with five goals and one assist, helping Niagara to a 12-11 victory over the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers Friday afternoon at Niagara Field.
 
In addition to Crump's standout performance at the offensive end, fellow freshman Alexis Morales contributed three goals for her second hat trick of the season. Jillian Ford, Danielle Maio, Cailyn Negus, and Taylor Wolf rounded out the goal scoring for Niagara, which picked up its second home win of the week.
 
The Purple Eagles' win comes on a special day, as the team took part in the Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer fundraiser. The team wore gold laces to support childhood cancer awareness in honor of teammate Caralyn Reynolds, a brain cancer survivor. Niagara raised more than $750 for Brian Moorman's P.U.N.T. Foundation.
 
"Today was a battle, and we were able to gut it out," head coach Wendy Stone said. "We finished shots when we needed to, and it was great to see different people step up and make plays for us. The effort was there across the board, and we outworked them at both ends of the field. We are also incredibly thankful for everyone's support of our Gold Game."
 
Crump opened the game with two straight goals in the opening 5:35 for the Purple Eagles (3-4). For the next 15 minutes, however, the Mountaineers buckled down on defense and got goals from Sammie Knapp and Nicole Lantuh to make it a 2-2 game with 10 minutes to play in the first period. Morales and Crump then scored 49 seconds apart to put Niagara back on top 4-2, only to see three straight goals from Mount St. Mary's give the visitors a 5-4 lead. Morales earned her second goal of the game on a free position shot 25 seconds before halftime to knot the game at five.
 
Mount St. Mary's (1-6) took an 8-7 lead 10 minutes into the second period as the two teams battled for the upper hand in a contest that was close from start to finish. Niagara took a lead that it would not relinquish midway through the second, as Maio's goal was followed closely by free position goals from Ford and Negus. Those three tallies, just 2:17 apart, put Niagara up 10-8. After Lantuh and Crump traded goals for the Mountaineers and Purple Eagles, respectively, to make it 11-9, the game went scoreless for nearly nine minutes.
 
The Mountaineers' Molly Morris broke the scoring drought with 5:17 left, but Niagara got the eventual game-winning goal with 1:35 to play. Crump fed Morales in front for a shot that just went high, but the two set up a similar play on the ensuing possession and Morales was able to complete her hat trick. Mount St. Mary's scored off a free position shot with 12 seconds to play and won the ensuing draw, but could not find a tying goal. The Purple Eagles held on for their second win of the week after defeating Cincinnati 9-8 on March 13 in the team's home opener.
 
Niagara prepares for two more contests next week, as the team travels to St. Bonaventure March 24 at 1 p.m. before returning to Niagara Field March 26 at noon to open MAAC play against the Quinnipiac Bobcats.
 
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