ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The Purple Eagles lacrosse team stretched its winning streak to three games with a balanced attack and strong defense against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. Five Niagara players scored at least two goals to lead the way in a 14-6 victory Thursday afternoon at the Marra Complex.
 
Hailey D'Hont led the attack for Niagara (4-4) with four points, earning her first collegiate hat trick and adding an assist. Alexis Morales tallied two goals and an assist while Sarah Arndt, Molly Gray, and Cailyn Negus each scored twice and Taylor Wolf added two assists.
 
Defensively, the Purple Eagles were stout as well, containing a Bonnies attack that entered the game averaging 13 goals per contest. Niagara caused 15 turnovers, led by two caused turnovers each from Gray, Morales, and Alexandra Higgins. Andrea Francisco started in goal and turned away six of 10 shots on goal in 54:20 of playing time. Zoe Parker made one save on three shots as the Purple Eagles held a commanding lead late.
 
"Today was a team effort, and we were able to put together a highly disciplined effort on both ends of the field," head coach Wendy Stone said. "We were able to create many opportunities on the offensive side of the field, and we stepped up our game defensively."
 
St. Bonaventure (2-4) got off to a strong start, scoring on its first three shots to take a 3-2 lead by the 18:10 mark of the first period. From that point on, however, the Purple Eagles shut out the Bonnies for nearly 42 consecutive minutes while scoring 12 straight goals. Gray tied the game with 16:17 until halftime, and Crump gave Niagara the lead for good three minutes later.
 
D'Hont, Negus, and Morales all scored just 27 seconds apart to make it 7-3. Arndt tallied her second of the game at the 5:25 mark before D'Hont doubled her total with 20 seconds left. By halftime, the Purple Eagles had established a 9-3 lead while holding a 27-9 advantage in total shots.
 
The total effort continued in the second period, as Niagara extended its scoring run to 12 goals after halftime. Gray scored on a free position shot just under three minutes into the period, Negus and Samantha Brill scored 1:52 apart, and Mackenzie Molodetz earned her first collegiate point assisting on a goal by Morales that made it 13-3 with 15:23 left in regulation.
 
After D'Hont completed her hat trick to make it a 14-3 Niagara lead, St. Bonaventure broke the scoring drought at the 6:16 mark. The Bonnies' Taylor Fallon, who led all scorers with five goals in the game, scored twice in the closing two minutes, but the Purple Eagles lead at that point was enough for the victory.
 
Niagara has a chance to stretch its winning streak to four games Saturday as the team returns home to open MAAC play. The Purple Eagles will face off with the Quinnipiac Bobcats March 26 at noon on Niagara Field.
 
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