Moon Township, Pa. / North Athletic Complex-The Robert Morris University women's soccer team pounded Niagara, 5-1, Friday afternoon to improve to 3-1 on the season. The mark ties the 1999 squad for the best four-game start by the women's program. Friday's game was the season-opener for the Purple Eagles.

RMU senior Brianna Bell (Irwin, Pa. / Hempfield) finished the game with a goal and two assists while senior Ayana Davis (Mt. Laurel, N.J. / Holy Cross) ran her season goal total to five with two goals. Senior Lauren Thomas (Wheeling, W.Va. / Wheeling Park) tacked on two assists playing as a reserve.

The scoring started when senior Holly Sieradzki (Clifton, N.J. / Clifton) hoisted a corner kick eight yards out from net to the middle of the box. Sophomore Alexa Sarsfield (Springdale, Pa. / Springdale) elevated over her defender and knocked the header into the right side netting to give RMU the lead in the 14^th minute.

A nice display of passing set up the second RMU score in the 35^th minute. Sophomore Johanna Kadam (Germantown, Md. / Northwest) set things up on the right side, then beat her defender to the inside. She fed Bell running into the right side of the box and Bell played the ball back to the middle where senior Jaimie Morra (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Hills) set up with her back to the net. Morra one-touched a pass to the top of the box where Thomas drilled a left-footed shot into the right side netting.

Thomas, who came on as a reserve in the 35^th minute, set up the team's third goal in the waning seconds of the first half. Her through-ball found the foot of Bell. Bell sidestepped Niagara back-up keeper Mariah Hoy and then finished into the wide open net to make it 3-0 with 17 seconds left in the half.

The Purple Eagles broke up the shutout by getting the ball deep into the right corner where Jamie Raepple played a cross to the middle of the box. Breanna Catipovic got her foot to the pass and scored to the left of RMU senior keeper Jessica Olin (New Port Richey, Fla. / River Ridge).

Davis scored her fourth of the season by chasing down her own rebound to make it 4-0 in the 76^th minute. Davis tallied her second goal of the contest just 43 seconds later, taking a feed from Bell and scoring from close range.

The Colonials outshot Niagara 17-8. The next seven games for Robert Morris will be on the road beginning with a Noon game at Youngstown State Sunday, August. 28.