FAIRFIELD, CONN. – For the first time in 23-years, Niagara (15-3, 7-2 MAAC) has earned a trip to the MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship game following its 9-8 semifinal win over No. 3 Siena (13-6, 7-2 MAAC) Friday afternoon at Rafferty Stadium.
Niagara's
Lexi Braniecki and
Maddy Gill each recorded a hat trick in the win, followed by one goal apiece from
Andra Savage,
Rachel Crane, and
Sydney Huhtala.
Jordan Roy made nine saves, while causing two turnovers and grabbing two ground balls. Savage and Huhtala led Niagara with three draw controls apiece.
Siena was led by Elizabeth Wamp, who tallied three goals, followed by Kelly Logue with two goals and an assist. Three other Saints recorded a goal in the contest. Laura Bonomo tallied a game-high six draw controls. Sabrina Krasner finished with 11 saves on 20 shots.
How it Happened
Niagara took control of the contest early, scoring four goals in the opening frame with the first two goals of the contest coming in a 52-second span from Crane and Gill. Gill would get her second of the contest at the 4:14 mark of the opening stanza and two minutes later, Braniecki found the back of the net after receiving a pass from
Riley Latray.
The Saints would get two goals back in the, the first at the 12:40 mark and the second 1:15 later to cut the Niagara lead in half.
The Purple Eagles would respond, as Braniecki found the back of the net again at the 5:55 mark of the second quarter, putting Niagara back up by three. However, the Saints would score twice in less than a minute to make it a 5-4 contest.
Huhtala would take the ensuing draw done into the offensive end and score her first career goal to give NU the two-goal cushion at the break.
After Siena made it a one-goal contest, 6-5, with 13:50 on the clock in the third, Niagara scored back-to-back goals as Braniecki and Gill each completed the hat trick to put the Purple and White back in front by three, 8-5.
The Saints would keep Niagara off the board over the next 10-minutes of action while scoring three times to even the score at 8-8 early on in the fourth.
Over the final 10-minutes of action, Roy and Krasner would make crucial stops for their teams, but, the MAAC's leading goal scorer, Savage, got the best of Krasner with just over a minute remaining in the contest, scoring the game-winning goal for Niagara.
Niagara Notes
• Niagara improves to 17-13 all-time against Siena with Friday's win snapping a two-game slide against the Saints.
• The Purple Eagles advance to the MAAC Championship game for the second time in program history and first time since 2001.
• With her assist in the first-half, Latray breaks the program's career assists record with her 104th career helper. The apple is her 59th of the season, one more and she will set the MAAC single-season record for assists in a season.
• Gill recorded her sixth career-multi goal game of the year.
• Braniecki notched her 13th game this season with at least three goals.
• Huhtala's goal was the first of her career.
•
Amber Daley led NU with three ground balls and Crane finished with a share of the team lead with two caused turnovers.
• Roy made nine saves, her seventh game this season with at least seven saves.
• Niagara 22 successful clears on the day is a season-high for the Purple and White.
• Niagara's nine goals is just the second-fewest it has scored in a contest this season.
Up Next
Niagara will take on the MAAC one-seed and the No. 22 ranked team in the country, the Fairfield Stags. The Pruple Eagles and Stags will play for the MAAC Women's Lacrosse Title at 12 p.m. on Sunday, May 5.
Stay connected with Niagara Women's Lacrosse on X, Instagram, and Facebook. Follow Niagara Athletics all year long on X, Instagram, Facebook, and purpleeagles.com.
