NIAGARA UNIVERISTY, N.Y. – Niagara opened the home portion of its schedule with a 19-5 drubbing of in-state foe Colgate Saturday afternoon in non-conference women's lacrosse action from Niagara Field to improve to 2-1 on the young season.
Lexi Braniecki led a trio of Purple Eagles who recorded over five points on the afternoon with her four goals and two assists.
Andra Savage finished with four goals and one assist, followed by
Lois Garlow with three goals and a pair of helpers.
Rachel Crane found the back of the net three times and
Riley Latray recorded a team-best four assists.
Jordan Roy stopped 12 of 17 shots faced.
Kait Henning scored two of Colgate's five goals and led the Raiders with a total of three points. Kyra Lucey, Lucy Licata, and Devon Maillet each tallied one in the contest.
How it Happened
Niagara scored five times, including a pair from both Garlow and Braniecki, while holding the Raiders off the board in the opening frame.
After Niagara went up 6-0 early in the second on
Annie Steigerwald's first of two goals in the contest, Colgate scored twice in a two-minute span to make it a 6-2 game with 11:09 to play in the first half.
That would be as close as Colgate would get in the contest as Niagara got goals from Crane,
Maddy Gill, and
Andra Savage before the end of the half to go into the locker room with a seven-goal lead over the visiting Raiders.
Niagara's lead would increase to nine, 12-3, two and a half minutes into the second half as Steigerwald and Crane scored their second goals of the contest.
The Purple Eagles' first double-digit lead came after back-to-back goals from Braniecki to make it 14-4. Colgate scored its fifth of the contest with 6:29 in the contest, but Crane scored her third of the game 27-seconds later, giving Niagara running clock for the remainder of the game.
The Purple and White would add-on four more goals 21-mintues of play, including a behind-the-back highlight reel goal from Gill in the final minute to secure the 19-5 win over Colgate.
Inside the Box Score
• Roy recorded six ground balls while
Mackenzie Bushnell,
Sydney Huhtala, and
Amber Daley each finished with three.
• Huhtala and Daley both finished with a team-high three caused turnovers.
•
Kendall Schneider recorded a team-best nine draw controls.
• The Purple and White finished the contest 14-for-18 on clears and 3-for-5 on free position attempts.
Niagara Notes
• The win marked Niagara's first in the series against the Raiders, snapping a three-game skid.
• Niagara held Colgate scoreless in the first quarter, marking the first scoreless quarter for a Niagara opponent since holding Eastern Michigan off the board for two-straight frames on Feb. 16, 2023.
• Braniecki and Savage recorded their second game this season with at least four goals. Both Purple Eagles recorded at least four goals in the season opener against UC Davis.
• Roy recorded double-digit saves for the second time this year.
• Niagara recorded season-highs in points (32), goals (19), assists (13), shots (37), shots on goal (30), saves (12), ground balls (21), and turnovers (15).
Up Next
Niagara takes on Le Moyne on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. from Niagara Field. The game will air on ESPN+
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