Box Score NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Niagara fifth-year forward Gerard Lopez Forner netted a hat trick in a 3:42 span to help the Purple Eagles erase a two-goal deficit and defeat Little Three rival St. Bonaventure 4-2 in Saturday night non-conference men's soccer action.
 
How it Happened
Niagara and St. Bonaventure would go into the break deadlocked at 0-0 with neither team generating more than a handful of shots on goal in the first half of action. 
 
That would change in the second half, as Bona jumped out to a two-goal lead 15-minutes into the second stanza as Rashid Aroza put the visitors on top by two with a left footed effort in the 60th minute.
 
In the 77th minute, Niagara would cut the Bonnies lead in half with a penalty kick goal, his fourth of the season, but, it was all Lopez Forner from there on out as the Spaniard netted three goals in 3:42 span to not only tie the game but give NU the two-goal advantage.
 
Jamie Barry, who finished with six saves, would stop one of two shots, as the other went high, from the St. Bonaventure attack in the final minutes, securing the comeback win for the Purple and White.
 
Niagara Notes
• Niagara moves to 13-33-4 all-time against St. Bonaventure with Saturday's win being NU's first in the series since Sep. 15, 2021.  
• Lopez Forner's 3:42 between goals for his hat trick is the fastest recorded hat trick in Niagara men's soccer history and fifth-fastest in NCAA history (according to NCAA Record Book).
• Lopez Forner is the first Purple Eagle to net three goals in a single game since Jelldrik Dallmann on Nov. 3, 2021 against Canisius.
• Barry has made five or more saves in three of seven games played.
• Niagara has scored nine goals in the last 180 minutes after being shutout in each of its previous four games.
 
Up Next
Niagara will close out non-conference play with a trip to Syracuse, N.Y., on Saturday, Sep. 21 to take on Le Moyne. The game is schedule for a 1:30 p.m. start in the Salt City.
 
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