PITTSBURGH, PA – The Purple Eagles were defeated by the Pitt Panthers Monday night at Highmark Stadium by the final score of 15-7. The loss drops Niagara to 4-4 overall, heading into their first MAAC game of the season this Saturday on Monteagle Ridge.   

Game Recap
First Quarter
• The Purple Eagles found themselves in an early four-goal hole when Lois Garlow found her teammate Allison McCormick for Niagara's first goal of the contest at the 1:59 mark of the first.
• Pitt added a goal before the quarter expired to go back up by four.

Second Quarter
• It took nearly 10-minutes for either team to find the back of the net in the second quarter, with Pitt getting the first goal of the frame at the 5:33 mark to take a 6-1 lead.
• Lexi Braniecki would get the Purple Eagles back within four with her 13th goal of the season 2:19 later.
• After Pitt scored their seventh goal of the contest, Braniecki set up Andra Savage for Niagara's third goal, making the score 7-3, 13-seconds before the end of the first half.

Third Quarter
• The Panthers scored the first two goals of the second half to take a 9-3 lead over Niagara.
• With a woman advantage, Garlow recorded her 20th goal of the season after taking a pass from Brenna Duffy.
• Pitt would add two more in the frame to take an 11-4 lead into the final quarter of play.
• Michelle Messenger, who got the start in the cage for NU, made five stops before being relieved by Maren Geiger after Pitt's 11th tally of the contest. 

Fourth Quarter
• With Pitt up 12-4, Eliza Wild connected with Lucy Rugaber for NU's fifth tally of the contest. The goal was Rugaber's ninth of the season.
• Pitt would again score back-to-back goals to build its lead up to nine with 4:36 left to play.
• Niagara made it an eight-goal game when Garlow scored her second goal of the night. Wild found Garlow for the Purple Eagles goal and her second assist.
• With 1:21 remaining, Pitt would go back up by nine, but Garlow would score 21-seconds later to give the game its 15-7 final. 

Niagara Notes
• Garlow recorded her seventh multi-goal game of the season and sixth game with four or more points.
• Rugaber and McCormick have scored goals in six of the teams' eight games.
• After coming in to replace Messenger, Geiger made five saves while allowing four goals in just under 19 minutes of action.
• Niagara finished the game with 20 shots on goal, with Garlow and Rugaber recording four apiece.
• The Purple and White also recorded 20 ground balls, won 10 draws, and caused 10 turnovers.
• TaNia Cunningham recorded her second game of the season with three caused turnovers.

Up Next
• The Purple Eagles will open MAAC play this Saturday when it welcomes the Monmouth Hawks to Niagara Field for a 1 p.m. tilt on ESPN+.

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