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Niagara University Athletics

Crane, Rachel
Niagara University
14
Niagara University NIA 7-5, 3-1 MAAC
16
Winner Iona College ION 8-5, 1-4 MAAC
Niagara University NIA
7-5, 3-1 MAAC
14
Final
16
Iona College ION
8-5, 1-4 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Niagara University NIA 2 4 6 2 14
Iona College ION 4 5 2 5 16

Game Recap: Women's Lacrosse |

Purple Eagles Defeated by Iona

NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Purple Eagles suffered their first MAAC loss of the 2022 season Saturday afternoon after falling to Iona, 16-14. Niagara drops to 7-5 overall and 3-1 in MAAC play with the loss. 

Game Recap
First Quarter
• Niagara's Rachel Crane opened the scoring with a goal 35 seconds into the contest, giving the Purple and White an early 1-0 lead. 
• Iona responded to the Niagara goal with four-unanswered tallies of its own to take a 4-1 lead over NU with 4:56 left in the first. 
• With 37 seconds remaining in the opening stanza, Allison McCormick found Brenna Duffy for the goal, cutting the Gaels' lead to two, 4-2.  

Second Quarter
• Lexi Braniecki scored her first goal of the game to start the second, pulling the Purple Eagles within one, 4-3, with 11:57 on the clock.
• After trading goals to make the score 5-4 with just over five to go in the first half, Iona once again scored four straight to go up by five with less than a minute to go in the second. 
• Jaclyn Crane found the back of the net to stop the bleeding before the break and make the score 9-5.

Third Quarter
• The Purple Eagles rattled off five-straight goals in the third to take a 12-11 lead over the Gaels. 
• During the run, Rachel Crane scored twice while Braniecki, Jaclyn Crane, and Allison McCormick added one each to help give NU its first lead since 1-0 in the first. 
• Two of Niagara's five goals came via free-position attempts in the third.  

Fourth Quarter
• The Gaels scored three times to start the fourth and retake the lead. 
•  Braniecki scored twice in the fourth, putting Niagara down one each time.
• The first was a goal at the 4:55 mark, making the score 14-13, and again with 2:17 remaining to put the Purple Eagles down 15-14. 
• The Gaels scored the game's final goal with 1:03 left on the clock, giving Iona a 16-14 win.

Niagara Notes
• Niagara drops to 6-11 all-time against Iona. 
• Senior goalkeeper Michelle Messenger made 11 stops, registering her fourth-straight game with double-digit saves.
• Braniecki finished with a season-high five goals, surpassing her previous game-high of four at Old Dominion on March 18. The sophomore joins Lois Garlow as the only Purple Eagles to record five goals in a game this season.
• Rachel Crane collected four tallies in the loss, a season-best for the reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year. 
• Messenger had seven ground balls, the most by a Purple Eagle in a game this season. 
• Six different Purple Eagles recorded an assist Saturday. 
• Niagara took 21 shots, 20 of which went on goal. 
• The Purple and White recorded 20 ground balls and caused 16 turnovers. 
• TaNia Cunningham led NU with three caused turnovers, her third game this season with at least three takeaways.

Up Next
Niagara returns to Monteagle Ridge for a three-game homestand beginning with Marist on Wednesday, April 13. The opening draw between the Purple Eagles and Red Foxes is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Niagara Field.

 
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