NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Purple Eagles lacrosse team outscored the Siena Saints 8-0 in a stellar second period en route to a 14-8 win Wednesday afternoon. With the win, Niagara (8-7, 4-2 MAAC) sits fourth in the conference and has clinched a spot in the MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship for the second consecutive season.

Niagara has now earned eight wins in a season for the first time since 2004 and earned four wins in MAAC play for the first time since 2003.
 
"Today was a total team effort," head coach Wendy Stone said. "We put both ends of the field and the transition game together, and we were able to finish the game on a high note. The team showed how much they wanted to win this game in the second half, and we will continue to work and clean things up heading into Saturday's matchup at Fairfield."
 
Cailyn Negus led the Purple Eagles' offensive attack with four goals in the victory over Siena. Sarah Arndt also registered a hat trick, while Caroline Crump, Hailey D'Hont, and Alexis Morales each pitched in two goals.
 
Defensively, Elizabeth Benedict was a major factor with five ground balls and two caused turnovers. Morales caused a team-high three turnovers in the game, and Andrea Francisco made nine saves on 17 shots on goal for her eighth win of the season, a career-high.
 
Niagara came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, as D'Hont scored the game's first two goals in the first three minutes of play before Taylor Wolf set up Arndt for a 3-0 lead. Siena came back with two tallies of its own, but the Purple Eagles responded, rattling off another three-goal run in a stretch of 2:47 with goals from Morales and Crump and a free position goal from Negus.
 
Not to be denied, the Saints (7-9, 2-5 MAAC) rattled off six straight goals in the final 12 minutes of the first period, taking an 8-6 lead into halftime. Lauren Smith scored three goals in the run, including two on free position shots, while Lynnzee Miller truck twice and Sarah Croutier added her second of the afternoon.
 
After the half, however, the Purple Eagles' defense stymied every Siena opportunity, and Francisco made five saves to hold the Saints off the board. Brill scored the period's first goal 51 seconds in before Niagara won the ensuing draw and Arndt tied the game at eight goals apiece. Just 17 seconds after Niagara tied the game, Crump won a one-on-one opportunity at the offensive end, beating the defender and burying the shot past Siena goalkeeper Samantha Horton for the eventual game-winning goal.
 
Siena turned to Ashley Holdridge in goal to try and curb Niagara's momentum, but the Purple Eagles could not be stopped, as a strong cut to the net by Negus led to a goal that made it 10-8 at the 24:34 mark. Siena kept Niagara off the board for the next 15 minutes of play, but Francisco made a point-blank save on Siena's Miller and the Niagara defense caused seven turnovers in that time before Maio fed Negus for her third goal of the day, making it 11-8 with 9:27 to play. Niagara would add three more goals courtesy of Arndt, Negus, and Morales to take the victory over Siena.
 
With two games to play in the regular season, Niagara turns its attention to a road matchup with Fairfield. The Stags, a game behind Niagara at 3-3 in the MAAC following a win over Quinnipiac on Wednesday, will host the Purple Eagles at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 23.

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