Nov. 2, 2005

For up-to-date Championship Information click here

The Walker Era ... In just three seasons, head coach James Walker has taken a team that ended the 2002 campaign 5-13-1 and tied for the bottom rung of the A-10 ladder (1-9-1) to one that has posted the most wins and earned its first A-10 berth. Walker has shown steady progress each season improving the overall mark by one win each season. He was 8-10-2 in 2003 and then went 9-10-1 in 2004. This year's squad hit the 10-win mark for the first time ever going 10-5-1 overall. His 5-4-0 Conference record also ties the most league wins matching the 1999 squad which finished 5-6-0 in A-10 play. His three year record is 27-25-4 while his Conference mark stands at 13-16-2. Walker also has three All-Conference picks, two All-Rookie selections and four A-10 All-Academic honorees under his belt. Additionally, he is responsible for the program's first NSCAA/adidas Mid-Atlantic All-American when Lauren Bracco was named in 2003.

The Sixth Seed ... Duquesne ended the season tied for fifth in the A-10 with Massachusetts, Xavier and Saint Joseph's. Duquesne earned the sixth and final seed by virtue of the tie-breaker over UMass and Xavier. St. Joe's earned the fifth seed, also by winning the tie-breaker. The Dukes will face third-seeded Charlotte in the opening match Thursday, Nov. 3, at 5:30 pm.

Most Wins in a Season ... Duquesne racked up a program-best 10 wins this year and tied the school record with five Atlantic 10 victories. Two of the Dukes' losses were heartbreakers coming down to an 0-1 decision - St. Francis (OT) and La Salle. On the year, Duquesne out-scored its opponents 33-25.

Another First ... This year's appearance in the Atlantic 10 championship also marks the first time the Dukes will compete in post-season play since earning Division I status in 1995. The A-10 took the top four teams to the tourney up until 2003 when the field expanded to six teams. Duquesne just missed the four-team tournament in 1999 - the Dukes finished tied for fifth that year as well.

Soccer Buzz Magazine Rankings ... For the fifth-straight week, Duquesne women's soccer has been among the vote getters in the Soccer Buzz Magazine Mid-Atlantic Region poll. The Dukes have received votes the past two weeks and were ranked 15th during the weeks of Oct. 10 and Oct. 17. They began receiving votes (a first for the program) in the Oct. 3 poll.

Carey Takes the Lead ... Erica Carey finished senior day in style vs. George Washington. Not only did she net the game-winning score in the final minutes of the match, but she also became Duquesne's all-time goal leader with 19 over her four years. Carey stands second with 14 assists and third with 44 points and has also notched the game-winning goal vs. Temple.

Home Cook'n ... Duquesne didn't disappoint its fans this year going 6-1-0 on the Rooney Field turf. The Dukes only fall was its 1-0 loss to La Salle in the final weekend of regular season play. Duquesne was 3-0-0 vs. non-conference opponents and 3-1-0 in league action.

Road Woes ... On the other side of the coin, Duquesne has had a hard road to hoe, finishing with a 2-4-1 mark in the away column. Three of those losses were to Conference members Saint Louis, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Billikens ended their first season in the Conference with a perfect 8-0-0 mark to take the top seed. Rhode Island finished second (6-1-1) while UMass was tied with Duquesne for fifth (5-4-0).

Versus Charlotte ... Sixth-seeded Duquesne and third-seeded Charlotte will open Championship play Thursday at 5:30 pm. Charlotte is in its first year of A-10 action and ended the regular season 10-8-0 overall, 6-3-0 in league play. This year marked the first meeting between the teams and Duquesne handed the visiting 49ers a 1-2 loss on Rooney Field Oct. 2. Charlotte was coming off a 0-1 loss at Saint Louis in its A-10 opener and went on to win the next five outings after the loss to the Dukes. Charlotte's only other league fall was a 0-2 decision to visiting UMass.

Versus the A-10 Championship Teams ... #1 Saint Louis: 13-4-0 (8-0-0) This year marked the first meeting and the Billikens' initial season in league play. SLU handed the Dukes a 0-5 loss - their largest margin of defeat this year. #2 Rhode Island: 10-5-2 (6-1-1) The Rams hold a 5-2-3 edge in the series. Rhode Island defeated Duquesne 5-2 this year in Kingston. #4 Dayton: 9-6-3 (5-3-1) The Flyers hold a 9-1-0 lead in the all-time series. The squads did not meet this season. #5 Saint Joseph's: 8-8-3 (4-3-2) The Hawks hold a 5-2-2 series lead. Duquesne defeated Saint Joseph's 2-1 in Philly this season.

D-Fence ... The Dukes' defense has aided in five team shutouts this season and has limited the opponent to an average of just 1.56 goals and 8.37 shots on goal per game.

No Sophomore Slump ... Sophomore Audra Mathews has posted back-to-back season as the Dukes top point scorer. A 2004 All-Atlantic 10 and All-Rookie selection, she owns a team-best 18 points entering the championship. Mathews has a team-high eight assists and is third with five goals. She has two-game winning scores (Richmond & Jacksonville). As a freshman, Mathews assisted on a DU single-season best 11 goals, which stood second in the DU "career" books. In just two seasons with the Red & Blue, Mathews is first in the Dukes' records books with 19 assists, second with 45 points and tied for fifth with 13 goals.

Freshmen of Influence ... The Dukes' goal leader this year is freshman Shannon Rengers who has found the back of the net seven times - good for fourth on the Duquesne single-season list. She adds two assists for 16 points, putting her seventh in the single-season column. She has two game-winning goals (Alabama A & M; Vermont) and was named the Sept. 12 A-10 Co-Rookie of the Week. Two other neophytes have posted nice numbers as well this year in Jenna Farneti (3 goals, 2 assists) and Shelley Esposito (3 goals, 1 assist). Esposito was named the A-10 Rookie of the Week on Oct. 10 after hitting the game-winner at Saint Joseph's and scoring a goal in the Dukes' 2-0 win at Temple.

Bondi In-Goal ... Junior Ginny Bondi has clocked in 1,478 minutes of play this season posting a 10-5-1 record. She owns a 1.52 GAA and .775 saves percentage. On her career, the three-year starter has 257 saves and a 1.38 goals against average. In the Duquesne records books, the three-year starter is third in GAA and fourth in saves.