In the be-all and end-all game of the season for Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse, the Bobcats were unable to keep up with Niagara as they lost 16-11, ending their season. 

Niagara came out swinging in the first half as they scored four back-to-back goals, two of which came from Rachel Crane. 

A huge Quinnipiac goal by sophomore midfielder Emily Feeney broke the silence for the Bobcats, as her 16^th of the season cut the 4-0 Niagara lead to 4-1.

The Purple Eagles went on a scoring spree for the rest of the half as they scored another six to tack onto their lead, one of which came from Lexi Branciecki, her third of the game. The Bobcats grabbed another three goals but still stayed behind a 10-4 deficit as they headed into the intermission. 

The scoring didn’t stop there as Niagara came out of the break tacking on another quick goal by Crane, her fourth of the game. 

The locker room must have been a driving force for the Bobcats as they had a much better second half. 

It was a back and forth game as Quinnipiac scored two more goals from Sophia Iaccino and Megan Szawlowski. Shortly after, Niagara’s Shea Swartwout scored her third goal of the game to give the Purple Eagles a 12-6 lead. 

It wasn’t until the last 2 minutes that the Bobcats kicked it into high gear. Two back-to-back goals from Katie Bonanno and a late goal by Shannon Savage knocked down Niagara’s lead to 16-11, but it wasn’t enough for the Bobcats. 

The shining stars of this game were Szawlowksi, Braniecki, Crane, and Swartwout. 

Quinnipiac’s Szawlowski scored only two for the Bobcats, but was the top scorer for Quinnipiac. For the season, she has racked up 35 goals. 

Branciecki showed out for the Purple Eagles and was the top scorer for them today. The first-year nailed in five of the 16 goals and has clutched 27 for the season. 

Niagara’s Crane grabbed four throughout the game for the Purple Eagles. For the season, the first-year midfielder racked a total 29 goals for Niagara. 

Another big player for Niagara was Swartwout as she also clutched four goals. That makes a whopping 38 goals for the season for the Niagara star. 

The three Purple Eagles combined scored 13 of the 16 goals for Niagara.

With the loss, the Bobcats will head home, as their season has come to an end. Niagara will move on to play number one Fairfield on Thursday in the next round of the MAAC Championships.