LOUDONVILLE, NY - Siena Women's Soccer embarks upon a season-long three-match homestand, and kicks off the second half of conference action, when the Saints host Niagara in a pivotal MAAC matchup Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Hickey Field. Winners of three straight and currently tied for second in the MAAC Standings at the midway point of the league docket, Siena enters play just three points ahead of the Purple Eagles, and even with Quinnipiac whom the Saints host Saturday to cap a key conference week in Loudonville.

Siena (6-6-1, 4-1) enters an important week looking to build off playing its best soccer of the season. The Saints have won three straight and are unbeaten in five of their past six matches overall (4-1-1), during which time the offense has come alive averaging an even 2.0 goals during that span. The reigning MAAC Champions have also held serve in their title defense thus far, and are now unbeaten in nine of their last 10 regular season conference matches (8-1-1) over the past two seasons spanning the last seven months during this unprecedented period. Monmouth, who has played one additional MAAC match to date, currently sits atop the conference table with 16 points, followed by the Saints and Quinnipiac with 12, and Fairfield and Marist have 10 points apiece to round out the top-five. 

Siena is looking to build off a key 1-0 road triumph at MAAC rival Marist Saturday night, in which head coach Steve Karbowski secured his milestone 200th career win. Now in his 23rd season at the helm, Karbowski is the conference's all-time leader with 109 MAAC Regular Season wins, which is three more than second place Peter Veltri of today's opponent, Niagara (9-3, 3-2). Veltri, who is also in his 23rd season guiding the Purple Eagles, earned his 200th overall win earlier this fall, and has 202 overall spanning a near parallel career with Karbowski. Veltri holds an 11-9-3 advantage in the head-to-head coaching matchup. 

Niagara meanwhile is looking to bounce back from defeats in two of its past three matches, albeit both losses have come by single goals against Monmouth and Quinnipiac. The Purple Eagles won eight straight matches earlier this season, beginning with a 4-2 road win at Syracuse. Niagara boasts one of the nation's top offenses, averaging 2.83 goals per match which currently ranks 13th nationally. Florence Vailancourt ranks ninth nationally with four game-winning goals and 10th with 25 total points, while Maia MacLean (18 points) and Djenyaba Thiam (17) currently stand fourth and fifth in scoring in the MAAC, respectively. 

Siena and Niagara meet for the 33rd time in a tightly contested series where the Saints hold a razor-thin 14-13-5 advantage. The programs met during the abbreviated season this spring, with Siena earning a 1-0 win on Apr. 1 in Western New York on a 13th minute goal by Rachel Sullivan. The Saints held a 21-9 shot advantage, with Brooke Boermeester making three saves to record the clean sheet. 

Rich Becker and Joe Mixie have the call of the match on ESPN+, which is available by clicking the corresponding link, on smartphones and tablets via the ESPN app, and on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox360, and Xbox One. Wednesday's match marks the third of four Siena Women's Soccer home matches scheduled to be broadcast this fall on the ESPN Family of Networks, with Saturday's Senior Day showdown vs. Quinnipiac set to air on ESPN3. Overall, eight of Siena Women's Soccer's nine regular season home matches are scheduled to be broadcast this fall, with non-ESPN contests streamed via Siena All-Access.
 
Fans wishing to attend any Siena Athletics games held on campus are required to adhere to the Siena Athletics Spectator Policy. All spectators are required to complete the Siena Athletics Spectator Screening Form at sienasaints.com/spectatorregistration, and receive clearance to attend, prior to their arrival on campus. All spectators must be vaccinated to be able to attend, and are required to bring proof of vaccination with them to campus. Unvaccinated children 12 and under must remain masked at all times. Spectators are requested to enter campus via Route 9 through the College's main gate on Loudon Road and check in at the Welcome Booth. All forms of tailgating are also currently prohibited at this time. This policy is guided by the alert level established by Siena College's COVID-19 Operations Team and is subject to change based on current conditions. Siena College and the athletic department will continue to monitor developments and alert spectators of any adjustments made to this policy.