NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY – The Niagara women's lacrosse team will host No. 6 Manhattan for the quarterfinal round of the MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship Saturday afternoon at Niagara Field. The opening draw for the contest between the Purple Eagles and Jaspers is scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
• Niagara was defeated by Manhattan on the final day of the regular season, 12-9.
Niagara Notes
•
Michelle Messenger was named MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year for the second consecutive season after posting 152 saves, a .438 save percentage and 12.37 goals against average this season. In MAAC play the senior has a .533 save percentage.
• Joining Messenger on the All-MAAC First team was
TaNia Cunningham. The defender caused 22 turnovers and 32 ground balls in her senior season.
•
Lexi Braniecki and
Lois Garlow were named to the All-MAAC Second Team at attack. The two Purple Eagles combined to score 76 goals and 27 assists. The two attackers scored five goals on four different occasions.
• Freshman
Jaclyn Crane was named to the MAAC All-Rookie squad after scoring 14 goals and assisting on three others in her first season on Monteagle Ridge.
•
Rachel Crane is coming off her eighth game this season with three or more goals. The midfielder finished the regular season with 36 tallies, second most on the team.
• Transfer
Andra Savage fourth multi-goal game of the year against Manhattan. The junior is fifth on the squad with 15 goals.
• Garlow led NU with 17 assists and 60 points and had 11 of her 43 goals via free position attempts.
• Messenger led NU with 39 ground balls, while Cunningham's 22 caused turnovers was the team's top mark.
•
Rachel Crane collected 38 draw controls, followed by
Lexi Braniecki with 34.
• As a team, Niagara scored 11.3 goals per contest this season.
• Niagara started MAAC play 3-0, it's best start to conference play in program history.
• The Purple Eagles are hosting a MAAC Quarterfinal for the second consecutive season. Last season, NU defeated Quinnipiac to advance to the MAAC Semifinals.
Series History
• Niagara and Manhattan have met a total of 26 times coming into Saturday's contest, with the Jaspers holding a 17-9 advantage over the Purple Eagles.
• Manhattan has won both MAAC postseason matchups with Niagara.
Up Next
• With a win, Niagara will advance to the MAAC Semifinals and play No. 2 Siena on Friday, May 8.
