QU Women’s Lacrosse Falls in Offensive Shootout to Niagara on Senior Day, 21-16

Sunday, April 23

Reese Stadium - New Haven, CT

12:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

4-12, 3-5MAAC

Niagara (Senior Day)

8-8, 5-2MAAC

Niagara

Quinnipiac

QU Women’s Lacrosse Falls in Offensive Shootout to Niagara on Senior Day, 21-16

4/23/2017 4:14:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

Bobcats Net Highest Single-Game Goal Total Since 2014, Will Enter the MAAC Tournament on Saturday as the No. 6 Seed

By: QU Sports Information

PHOTO GALLERIES
- Senior Day
- QU vs. NIA

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut – In an offensive barrage that came down to the final minutes, Niagara rattled off a 4-0 run in the closing three minutes to defeat the Quinnipiac women's lacrosse team, 21-16, on Sunday afternoon from Reese Stadium.

A seesawing affair that featured 37 goals was just a one-goal game with three minutes to go and the Bobcats holding possession. Trailing 17-14 just four minutes prior, the Bobcats clawed their way back to within one but suffered a costly turnover that flipped possession back to the Purple Eagles.

Niagara worked the ball in their end for nearly one minute before Alexis Morales took her defender on one-on-one and finished into the top corner that made it 18-16 Purple Eagles. Niagara won the ensuing draw control as the Purple Eagles had done the entire game, amassing a 29-10 edge in the crucial statistical category, and scored three goals in the closing minutes to run away with the tightly contested win.

Quinnipiac drops to 4-12 on the season and 3-5 in MAAC play but will head into the MAAC Tournament as the No. 6 seed. The Bobcats now have five full days to prepare for the still to-be-determined No. 3 seed (either Marist, Monmouth or Niagara). Quinnipiac will head on the road for their first-ever MAAC Tournament appearance with the winner advancing to play the No. 2 seed the following weekend at Canisius.

This epic offensive duel saw the Bobcats tally new season highs in both goals (16) and shots (33) while the 16-goal total is the most scored by Quinnipiac since defeating St. Francis (PA) 20-8 back on April 21, 2013 (63 games ago).

Alex Hlesciak (Lumberton, New Jersey) paced the goal scoring spree as the senior tallied a career high seven points (five goals, two assists) on Senior Day. Hlesciak came into her senior season with 18 career goals in 40 games played but she has broken out in 2017 with a team-leading 30 goals through the 16-game regular season.

Freshman Ashley Bobinski (Kinnelon, New Jersey) matched her season high with five points on four goals and one assist. Both Allison Kuhn (two goals, two assists) and Julia Corrice (three goals, one assist) totaled four points while Amy Hauser (East Northport, New York) chipped in two points (one goal, one assist). Kuhn finishes the regular season with a team-leading 37 points (24 goals, 13 assists) while Corrice tallied her first career hat trick on the day.

Quinnipiac took the play to Niagara early, building 3-1 and 4-2 leads through the first 11+ minutes of play as Hlesciak scored two while Bobinski strung together a goal or assist on three straight Bobcat goals to make it 4-2.

The first half closed with Niagara swinging momentum back in their favor as the Purple Eagles outscored the Bobcats 7-2 for the remainder of the opening stanza to build a 9-6 advantage. Balanced scoring during the spurt helped Niagara as five different players scored in the 7-2 run.

Niagara would later extend their lead to 13-9 with 23:05 remaining but the Bobcats made sure they wouldn't go away quietly as a less than five minutes later, a 4-0 run tied the score at 13-13. Hlesicak again sparked the run as she netted three of the four Bobcat goals in the run to give her the five-goal total for the day which matched a career high.
Momentum continues to swing wildly as Niagara pushed back with a 3-0 run only to see Quinnipiac score a 3-1 run of their own to make it 17-16 Purple Eagles before the crucial game-deciding possessions with less than three minutes remaining.

Quinnipiac controlled the ball throughout, finishing with a season-low 10 turnovers including just four in the first half alone. The Bobcats also forced 18 Niagara turnovers while Kiera Kelly (West Islip, New York) continued her stellar defensive play with three caused turnovers and four ground balls. Kelly now has 54 ground balls and 39 caused turnovers on the season, both of which rank in the Top 20 nationally.

Niagara was paced by three players – Rachel MacCheyne (five goals, two assists), Morales (five goals) and Caroline Crump (four goals, one assist) – who chipped in at least five points on the day.

The Bobcats now shift their focus to the MAAC Tournament for the first time since joining the conference in 2014. Quinnipiac awaits their opponent in the No. 3 seed (either Marist, Niagara or Monmouth) in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.