VESTAL, N.Y. – In their first road game of the season, the Niagara University women's lacrosse team came away victorious following a nail-biting 11-9 win at Binghamton. The Purple Eagles (2-0, 0-0 MAAC) tied the game on five separate occasions before taking their first lead with 11 minutes left, then staved off two tying goals from the Bearcats (0-2, 0-0 America East) by reclaiming the lead for good with 1:48 to go.
 
Game Recap

• Just 25 seconds after Binghamton opened the scoring, Caroline Crump tied the game at 1-1 after Hailey D'Hont won the draw control to give Niagara possession.
• With 11:19 gone in the half, D'Hont made it 2-2 with some help from Audrey Fithall. The sequence began after Maren Geiger stopped a shot by Binghamton's Amelia Biancardi which allowed the team to break out on a clear attempt and give Shea Swartwout a shot that was saved but recovered by Niagara, giving the team another 90-second possession, which D'Hony capitalized on.
• After the Bearcats scored three times in under two minutes, Jenna Brill and Crump scored 42 seconds apart to bring the team back to within one.
• 3:10 before halftime, D'Hont's second goal of the first tied the game for the third time and made it 5-5.
• Alex Leo scored the team's first second half goal 2:31 in to make it 6-6.
• A free position goal by Rachel MacCheyne with 18:38 on the clock leveled things up again at 7-7.
• After seven minutes of scoreless play, MacCheyne scored again to give the Purple Eagles their first lead of the contest.
• D'Hont notched a hat trick with 5:26 to go to put Niagara up 9-8.
• MacCheyne registered her third goal of the day with 1:48 remaining to restore Niagara's lead and put the team on top for good.
• Leo bookended the half with another goal, making it 11-9 with 31 seconds to play and icing the victory.

 
Defensive Spotlight

• Amy McNally led all Niagara field players by picking up three ground balls and causing three turnovers.
• Geiger, a freshman, earned her second straight start in goal for the Purple Eagles, going the full 60 minutes to earn the win. Geiger made 14 saves and picked up eight ground balls.

Coach's Corner

• "We could not be more proud of the team effort. Defensively we made adjustments on the fly and stepped up. Offensively we finished when we needed to and closed out the game. It was a total team effort, and were excited to get back to work this week." – head coach Wendy Stone.

 
Up Next

• Central Connecticut State will pay a visit to Niagara Field on Saturday, Feb. 23. Opening draw will be at 1 p.m.

 
 
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