NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY –Senior Rachel Crane scored five times, while four Purple Eagle teammates registered at least two goals as the Purple and White upended Iona 16-11 on Senior Day Saturday afternoon in MAAC women's lacrosse action from Niagara Field.
 
Niagara improves to 8-5 overall and 2-2 in MAAC play with the win.
 
Game Recap
First Quarter
• Niagara got off to a fast start scoring twice in the opening five minutes of play. Lois Garlow notched Niagara's first goal, followed by a woman up tally from R. Crane less than a minute later.
• After nearly 10-minutes with no goal from either side, Iona beat Katie Ling for their first tally of the contest.
• The Gales would take a 3-2 lead with two-seconds remaining in the quarter.
 
Second Quarter
• Niagara would tie the game less than a minute into the second frame when R. Crane scored via a free-position.
• Riley Latray, who assisted on both of the Purple Eagles' first two goals of the contest, found the back of the net for her 10th goal of the season, giving NU a 4-3 lead with 9:36 on the clock.  
• With 4:45 to go in the first half, Latray would find Garlow for Niagara's fifth goal of the contest, one she would score from the seat of her pants.
• The Gaels would respond with four of their own to end the half, giving themselves a 7-5 lead at the break.
 
Third Quarter
• Iona went up by three goals after scoring the game's first goal of the second half.
• Andra Savage would add her name to the scoring summary with her 24th goal of the season at the 12:33 mark of the third, Latray would get credit for her third assist of the game.
• After the Gaels went back up by three, R. Crane would score twice in less than a minute to put NU down by one, 9-8, with 9:15 to go in the third.
• The Niagara comeback wouldn't stop there as Eliza Wild would take the feed from Garlow to tie the game at nine, followed by two more Niagara goals, one from Savage and another from Lexi Braniecki, to give the Purple Eagles an 11-9 lead.
• Iona would get one back before the end of the frame, making it an 11-10 game heading into the final 15-minutes of action.
 
Fourth Quarter
• The Purple and White would score four unanswered goals to start the fourth. Garlow got things started with her 35th of the season, followed by Latray, Braniecki and R. Crane, giving NU a 15-10 lead with 6:08 to play.
• Iona would find the back of the net with 4:18 remaining in the contest, trimming Niagara's lead to four, 15-11.
• After getting sent to the turf, Lucy Rugaber would put the icing on the cake with a free-position goal as time expired, giving Niagara a 16-11 win.
 
Niagara Notes
• Niagara improves to 4-1 at home this season.
• After her fourth goal of the day, R. Crane became the ninth Purple Eagle to record 100 career goals. The senior has scored five goals in two of the last three games.
• R. Crane led Nuagara with five ground balls and three caused turnovers on the day.
• Of Niagara's 34 shots, 28 were on target.
• The Purple Eagles won 16 draw controls, picked up 22 ground balls, and were successful on 17-of-20 clears.
• Ling recorded three saves in the first and fourth quarters to earn her second-straight win.
• Latray finished with seven points with five assists and a pair of goals. Her 30 assists on the season is fifth most by a Purple Eagle in a season, surpassing Jen Austin's 1998 mark of 28.
• Garlow recorded her seventh game this season with three or more goals.
• Freshman Sydney Huhtala led Niagara with eight draw controls.
 
Up Next
• Niagara heads to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for a Wednesday afternoon contest with the Marist Red Foxes. The opening draw between the MAAC rivals is scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
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