ST. BOANVENTURE, N.Y. -- The St. Bonaventure women's soccer team (2-6-1) found itself in a rare offensive battle Friday afternoon, but managed to come out on top, defeating Niagara, 4-3, at McGraw-Jennings Field to earn its second straight win.

The Bonnies came into the game only having scored three goals through its first eight games, but exploded for four against their Little Three rivals. They would need all four of those goals in this one as a late Niagara push would produce two of its three goals in the final five minutes of regulation.

The scoring got started in the 15th minute when Kayla Picano took a header from Jamie Raepple and placed the ball just inside the right post for her first goal of the season.

The score would not remain that way for long however as the Bonnies mounted a strong offensive push capped with a tremendous shotfrom Abby Maiello well outside the box on the left wing that found its way into the upper right corner of the goal. Brittany Charles would pick up the assist, the first of her three helpers on the day.

With time running out in the first half, Caitlin MacConnell sent a corner kick into the box. The ball created a scrum in the goal mouth that would produce a goal coming off the foot of Jordan Calabria, her first of the season. The Bonnies would take that 2-1 lead into the half.

"We didn't start out well, I was really pleased with how we fought." said head coach Manoj Khettry. "To have a 2-1 lead at halftime considering how poorly we started was fantastic."

St. Bonaventure would pick up its third goal of the game in the 58th minute when Gabriella Balseca skipped a pass from a Charles corner kick to Shannon Van Riper, who fired home her second goal of the 2012 campaign.

The 3-1 lead would stand up until the 85th when Van Riper would strike again on yet another corner kick. The Brittany Charles kick found its way to the head of Van Riper who sent the ball to the back of the net.

The 4-1 lead would not last for long however as Niagara took the kick off and went straight down the field and scored. Niagara forward Danielle Kennedy beat SBU goalie Megan Junker one-on-one in the box for the score. Just shy of two minutes later, Niagara's Kayla Picano broke free when she gathered a deflection caused by Jeannie Taylor and capitalized bringing the score to 4-3 with just under four minutes to play.

The Bonnies would find one more scoring chance but it was the defense that held on to preserve the 4-3 victory. It's the second straight victory for the Bonnies who were previously winless.

"Every single non-conference game has been like a conference game." Khettry added. "It's been that sort of intensity." 

SBU will travel on Sunday to Canisius for a Noon start.

GAME NOTES: SBU outshot Niagara 16-14, however Niagara outshot the Bonnies in the second half 9-5. The teams split corner kicks 7-7. St. Bonaventure had more fouls (12-9). Megan Junker made six saves and picked up her second win of the season on her 21st birthday. There were no cards issued.