NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles women's lacrosse team and the Colgate Raiders battled back and forth in a hard-fought matchup Tuesday afternoon at Niagara Field. After the Purple Eagles closed the first period on a 5-1 run, Colgate used a 6-0 run of their own in the second period to take a late 10-8 lead. Niagara came back to tie the game at ten, but Colgate scored the eventual game-winner with 4:20 to play, sending the Purple Eagles to an 11-10 loss at Niagara Field.
 
Game Summary

• Final Score: Colgate 11, Niagara 10
• Offensive Leaders: Alexis Morales (4G), Rachel MacCheyne (2G, 1A), Caroline Crump (2G, 1A)
• Defensive Leaders: Jillian Ford (5 GB, 1 DC, 3 CT), Alexandra Higgins (3 GB, 6 DC, 2 CT), Kara Martin (4 GB, 2 CT)
• In Goal: Andrea Francisco (1-1) – 11 GA, 10 SV
• Records: Niagara – 1-1; Colgate – 3-1
• Location: Niagara Field – Niagara University, N.Y.
• Attendance: 148

 
Game Recap

• Colgate opened the game with a 2-0 lead five minutes in on a pair of goals from Isabel Kreitler. Alexis Morales scored Niagara's first goal of the game at the 24:09 mark, but the Raiders held Niagara scoreless for the next 11 minutes.
• A free-position goal from Kreitler at the 13:57 mark made it 3-1 Raiders, but Rachel MacCheyne responded with her first of the afternoon 54 seconds later, making it a one-goal game again.
• MacCheyne's goal sparked a 5-1 run for Niagara to close the first period. Audrey Fithall set up Morales for her second of the game with 11:13 to go to halftime, and Samantha Brill set up Caroline Crump 52 seconds later to make it a 4-3 Purple Eagles advantage.
• Lindsay West tied the game for Colgate late in the first period, but Niagara scored the final two goals before halftime. After Morales scored her third goal on a free-position shot, Kara Martin intercepted a pass from Colgate goalkeeper Asil Asfour, drove for the open net, and scored her first career goal to make it 6-4 at the half.
• After both teams were held scoreless the opening four minutes of the second period, Morales and Crump scored goals 22 seconds apart, giving Niagara their largest lead of the game at 8-4 with 25:12 to play.
• Following Crump's goal, however, the Raiders held the Purple Eagles off the scoreboard and rattled off a 6-0 run over a span of more than 15 minutes. Kreitler, Natalie Washuta, and Payton Gabriel all scored twice in the run for Colgate.
• Niagara's Grace Hunt set up MacCheyne to end the Colgate run with 9:56 to play, and Crump set up Hunt for the tying goal just 1:11 later to make it 10-10. That was all the Raiders would allow, and Kreitler set up teammate Haley O'Hanlon for the game-winner with 4:20 to play.

 
Coach's Corner

• Head coach Wendy Stone: "We knew today was going to be a battle. We needed to put together 60 minutes today, and we put together 50 minutes of good play. We created opportunities on both ends of the field, but needed to execute more consistently. We learned some lessons and did some great things defensively today."

 
Inside the Numbers

• Sophomore Alexis Morales led all Niagara scorers with four points, all goals, against Colgate. With nine goals through two games, Morales is the MAAC's leader in goals per game at 4.50.
• Jillian Ford led all players in the game with five ground balls, and she tied with teammate Amy McNally for a game-high three caused turnovers.
• Senior captain Kara Martin scored the first goal of her career in the first half, adding four ground balls and two caused turnovers at the defensive end.
• Alexandra Higgins collected a game-high six draw controls, and she now holds the MAAC lead with 5.0 draw controls per game. Higgins added three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
• Goalkeeper Andrea Francisco recorded 10 saves against 21 shots on goal by the Raiders. She now holds a goals-against average of 7.95 and a save percentage of .531, both tops in the MAAC.
• Niagara led Colgate in the game in both ground balls (21-18) and draw controls (12-11).
• Colgate converted on three of its five free-position shots while stopping Niagara on three of its four.

 
Up Next

• Niagara heads south on a three-game road trip over the next week, starting Saturday, March 4 with an 11 a.m. contest at Mount St. Mary's. The Purple Eagles then head to Florida, facing the Jacksonville Dolphins at 3 p.m. on March 8 and the Stetson Hatters at 4 p.m. on March 10.

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