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The Niagara Purple Eagles women's lacrosse team takes on the Canisius Golden Griffins Wednesday night in the annual Battle of the Bridge matchup. Both teams have secured postseason berths to the MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship and will battle it out for a rivalry win in the regular-season finale. Opening draw is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo.
 
With Sunday's 21-16 win at Quinnipiac, Niagara clinched home field advantage for the first round of the 2017 MAAC Championship. Depending on the results of the final MAAC regular-season games Wednesday, the Purple Eagles will host either Monmouth or Quinnipiac at Niagara Field at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 29.
 
Battle of the Bridge

• In its 11th season, the Battle of the Bridge is the annual all-sports competition between the Niagara Purple Eagles and Canisius Golden Griffins.
• Canisius currently holds a lead of 21-7 in this year's Battle of the Bridge, with two points on the line in Wednesday's women's lacrosse matchup.
• Niagara picked up four points with a season sweep in men's basketball, defeating the Golden Griffins 91-84 at home on Jan. 23 and 94-81 at Canisius on Feb. 10.
• The Purple Eagles' volleyball team picked up two points and did not drop a single set to Canisius in two matches, winning 3-0 at Canisius on Oct. 13, 2016 and 3-0 at Niagara on Nov. 2, 2016. The Niagara men's soccer team also scored one point for the Battle of the Bridge in a 0-0 draw versus Canisius in its regular-season finale on Nov. 2, 2016.

 
Seeding Scenarios

• The Purple Eagles can finish either third or fourth in the MAAC standings depending on Wednesday's results across the conference, meaning the team is guaranteed a home game on Saturday, April 29 in the first round of the MAAC Championship.
• Niagara can enter the MAAC Championship seeded third for the second time in program history and the first since 2003. Niagara earned its best MAAC finish in 2001 with a 4-2 conference record (8-10 overall).
• If Niagara loses to Canisius, Marist defeats Siena, and Iona defeats Monmouth, Niagara ends the regular season tied for third with Marist. Based on the head-to-head tiebreaker, Niagara would be seeded fourth for a second-straight season and would host the Monmouth Hawks in the first round.
• In all other scenarios, Niagara would be seeded in third place in the MAAC standings and would host the sixth-seeded Quinnipiac Bobcats in the first round.

Last Time Out

• Niagara and Quinnipiac traded blows in a high-scoring offensive showdown on Sunday, with the Purple Eagles coming out on top by a score of 21-16.
• After the Purple Eagles took a 9-6 lead at halftime, Quinnipiac made a late rally and was within one goal of tying the game as Niagara led 17-16 with two minutes to go. In that final stretch, Alexis Morales scored twice in a 31-second stretch to extend the lead, and Samantha Brill and Rachel MacCheyne added late insurance tallies to give Niagara the 21-16 victory.
• MacCheyne, the leading scorer of the Purple Eagles, tied her career-high with seven points on five goals and two assists. Morales also scored five goals, while Caroline Crump added four goals and one assist at the attacking end.
• Alexandra Higgins set a program record with 14 draw controls in the game as Niagara held a commanding 29-10 edge over the Bobcats on the draw. Higgins' 14 controls were the second-most by a MAAC player this season, and she leads the conference with 95 draw controls in 16 games.
• Lauren Paul added two ground balls, two caused turnovers, and three draw controls in the win, and midfielder Jillian Ford scored an assist to go with two ground balls, three draw controls, and one caused turnover.

Record Chasing

• Several Purple Eagles are making their marks in the program record books this season.
• On defense, Alexandra Higgins has the highest recorded single-season totals in Niagara program history with 51 ground balls, 95 draw controls and 32 caused turnovers.
• At attack, Grace Hunt ranks second in the MAAC and leads Niagara with 34 assists, which is currently the third-highest single-season total for a Purple Eagle. Hunt needs four more assists to break Sandra Gallegos' single-season record of 38, set in 2002. Hunt's 49 career assists put her sixth in program history.
• Currently at 49 goals, sophomore Rachel MacCheyne needs four more goals to break Mary Cutia's single-season record of 52 from the 2000 campaign.              MacCheyne's classmate Alexis Morales has 41 goals, which ranks sixth for a season in Niagara history.
• MacCheyne's 63 combined points on the season puts her within reach of breaking Gallegos' program record of 66 points, set during the 2003 season.
• Senior goalkeeper Andrea Francisco ranks third in school history with 459 career saves, and her career-high total of 152 thus far in the 2017 season ranks seventh.

 
On the Field: Niagara Purple Eagles (8-8, 5-2 MAAC)

• After recording the program's first-ever season with five wins in MAAC play in 2016, Niagara has matched that total heading into Wednesday's contest at Canisius.
• Niagara ranks third in the MAAC in scoring offense (11.81 goals per game) and is fifth in scoring defense (11.88 goals against per game).
• At the offensive end, the Purple Eagles are led by the MAAC's second-leading scorer, Rachel MacCheyne. Her 49 goals and 63 points on the season are second only to Canisius' Erica Evans.
• As the top shooter in Niagara's offense, MacCheyne leads the MAAC and ranks THIRD in the NCAA with an average of 8.12 shots per game. As a team, Niagara leads the conference with an average of 29.94 shots per game.
• Niagara also leads the MAAC with 14.44 draw controls per game. Leading the way on the draw is Alexandra Higgins, who is tied for the MAAC lead with 95 draw controls this season. Her per-game average of 5.94 draw controls is tied for TENTH in the NCAA.
• A native of nearby Hamburg, N.Y., Higgins also ranks third in the MAAC and leads Niagara with 51 ground balls and 32 caused turnovers. She is the only player in the conference to rank in the top three in all categories.
• Higgins' fellow Hamburg native, Jillian Ford, is fifth on the team with 27 points (20+7) and also ranks among Niagara's leaders in ground balls (fourth, 26), draw controls (second, 42) and caused turnovers (second, 20).
• Kara Martin (32 ground balls, 16 caused turnovers) and Lauren Paul (22 ground balls, 18 caused turnovers) have also been major contributors on defense all season for Niagara.
• In goal, Andrea Francisco is 8-8 with a goals-against average of 11.65 and a save percentage of .474. Francisco has been at her best against MAAC competition, as she is 5-2 in conference play with a 10.77 goals-against average and .520 save percentage in those seven games.

 
On the Field: Canisius Golden Griffins (12-4, 7-0 MAAC)

• Riding a nine-game winning streak into Wednesday's Battle of the Bridge matchup, Canisius has clinched the first seed in the MAAC standings for a third consecutive season.
• Canisius holds a narrow 11-10 advantage over Niagara in the all-time series between the two schools.
• The Golden Griffins have the MAAC's top scoring offense (15.5 goals per game) and ranks second in scoring defense (9.58 goals against per game).
• Canisius junior Erica Evans leads the MAAC with 60 goals and 83 points. Jourdan Roemer is fourth in the conference with 56 points (31+25), while Tessa Chad (44+6) and Lauren Smolensky (13+37) are tied for ninth at 50 points. Smolensky's 37 assists lead the MAAC as well.
• Defensively, Evans leads the MAAC with 57 ground balls and is second with 37 caused turnovers. Ashley Bull is third with 71 draw controls, followed by Evans in seventh at 49 draw controls.
• Canisius goalkeeper Rebecca VanLaeken is second in the MAAC with a 10.00 goals-against average and a .490 save percentage.

 
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.