Aug. 19, 2010
PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne women's soccer team will begin its 2011 season on Friday afternoon when they visit Loretto, Pa. to take on Saint Francis, Pa. at the Stokes Soccer Complex. Kickoff is at 4:00 p.m.
Coming off a pair of preseason victories on the road - 2-1 at Kent State and 2-0 at Slippery Rock - the squad, led by fourth year head coach Tim Zundel, is ready to tackle its 18-game slate.
This season's opponents combined for 159 wins last year. DU will play a nine game non-conference schedule and a nine game Atlantic 10 Conference slate.
After Friday's opener at SFU, the Dukes visit cross-town rival Robert Morris on Aug. 22. Duquesne has won four of five against RMU.
Duquesne returns to Pittsburgh the following week for the 2010 Duquesne Classic. The two-day event will feature fellow A-10 opponent Saint Louis, Marist and Towson. On Aug. 27, Towson will play Saint Louis followed Duquesne hosting Marist. Marist and Saint Louis start things off on Aug. 29 and the Dukes play Towson to close out the annual event.
Duquesne plays the first of two Patriot League teams on Sept. 3 when they visit Bucknell. The following week, DU will play a pair of matches in the Niagara Tournament - the first against Buffalo on Sept. 10 follow by the host Purple Eagles on Sept. 12. NU was the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference runner-up last season as a #6 seed.
Duquesne will host Ball State on Sept. 18 before a tough away match against a Navy team who won 14 matches last season on Sept. 24.
A-10 Conference play begins with four straight opponents that qualified for the conference championship last season. The league schedule begins at home on Oct. 2 against St. Bonaventure. The Dukes will hit the road the following weekend playing in two of the toughest venues in the conference - Oct. 8 at Saint Louis and Oct. 10 at Charlotte.
DU returns home for a four-match home stand beginning with Fordham on Oct. 15. La Salle visits Rooney Field on Oct. 17 looking for revenge after the Dukes knocked the Explorers out of A-10 Championship contention last season. Defending champion Dayton comes to town on Oct. 22 followed by Xavier on Oct. 24. The regular season closes out the last weekend on the month at Richmond on Oct. 29 and George Washington on Oct. 31.
The 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship will be held at the URI Soccer Complex in Kingston, R.I. The quarterfinal round is Nov. 4, semifinal round Nov. 5 and the championship Nov. 7. The top six teams qualify for the event, with the top two seeds receiving a first round bye.
