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ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure women's soccer team (1-6-1) wraps up its non-conference schedule this weekend by hosting the Niagara Purple Eagles (4-3) on Friday at 5 p.m. before concluding its Little Three rivalry weekend when it pays a visit to Buffalo to battle Canisius College (2-6) on Sunday at Noon.
The Bonnies are coming off of their first win of the season against Binghamton (6-2), a team which Niagara lost to in its season opener, 1-0. The Bonnies defeated the Bearcats last Friday night on a goal from freshman forward Abby Maiello, stopping a scoreless drought of 368:25 for Bonaventure.
For the third straight year, Bonaventure will play Niagara and Canisius consecutively, although this will be the first year out of the last three that the contests will not occur as part of the Big 4 Tournament.
Last year, SBU fell to Canisius in a shootout, 4-3, before bouncing back two days later to claim a 2-0 triumph over Niagara. Two seasons ago, the Bonnies swept both rivals (Canisius, 2-1; Niagara, 1-0).
SBU will look to keep its good history going against a Niagara club heading to Olean riding a three-game winning streak. During the streak the Purple Eagles have scored six unanswered goals. Their freshman goalkeeper, Claire Feiertag, earned College Sports Madness Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Player of the Week. Feiertag earned her second and third shutouts of her career in the Purple Eagles' wins against St. Francis (Pa.) and Robert Morris last week.
The Purple Eagles have had nine different players record at least one point this year, and junior defender Danielle Kennedy is the lone Purple Eagle with multiple goals. In fact, those two goals have come on her only two shots on net this year. St. Bonaventure leads the all-time series against Niagara with a 17-8-1 record.
Canisius will head to Bucknell on Friday night for a match before traveling back home to entertain the Bonnies on Sunday. The Griffs have won three of the last four meetings against Bona's, including last year's decision, and hold a 17-9-1 all-time series advantage.
Junior goalkeeper Megan Tock made 10 saves en route to recording her third career shutout last Friday in a 2-0 Canisius win over Duquesne. The effort was enough to earn Tock the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week award.
Following the rivalry games this weekend, the Bonnies hit the road to open Atlantic 10 Conference action next weekend at La Salle and Fordham.
