PITTSBURGH - The Corinne Desrosiers era at Duquesne began with a victory on Sunday afternoon at Arthur J. Rooney Field as the first-year head coach and the Dukes posted a 22-9 triumph over visiting Longwood in the season opener.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Dukes jumped out to an early 6-0 lead under eight minutes into the contest keyed by a hat trick from Megan Buettner and a pair of goals by Courtney Battles.  
• The Lancers got on the board with a goal on the man advantage before Duquesne answered with four more scores, including two goals by Maddie Hart to push the Dukes' edge to 10-1.
• Duquesne netted three of the next four goals to gain a 13-3 halftime advantage.
• Longwood's Jade O'Connor opened the second stanza with a pair of goals followed by a 7-1 Duquesne run highlighted by two more goals from Hart and a pair of scores by Haley Matthai to extend the lead to 20-6.
• After a Lancer goal, Michaela Connolly secured a hat trick before Kirsten Barnes found the back of the net for the second time on the afternoon, giving Duquesne a 22-7 advantage.
• Longwood netted two goals late to shrink the final margin to 22-9.

KEY STATS

• Connolly finished with a career-high six points, netting a career-high three goals to go with three assists. She added a team-high six ground balls.
• Hart, the Dukes' leading returning goal scorer, registered a career-high five goals to pace Duquesne. She matched a team-high with six draw controls to go with four caused turnovers.
• Buettner finished with four goals for the Dukes in the win.
• Battles, Matthai and Barnes each recorded three points for Duquesne with two goals and an assist.
• Maddy Curtis picked up the win between the pipes, totaling three saves in the victory.
• The Dukes outshot the Lancers 54-17, including a 40-12 edge in shots on goal.
• Duquesne was 21-of-24 (87.5 pct) on clears and held advantages of 31-18 on ground balls, 19-12 on draw controls and 10-3 on free position shots.

GAME NOTES

• The Dukes open the season with a victory for the first time since 2016 when Duquesne topped Robert Morris 14-7.
• DU improves to 2-0 all-time against Longwood. The Dukes also earned a 10-7 win in the teams' first meeting in 2006, giving first-year head coach Mike Scerbo his first win with the Dukes.
• Duquesne's 22 goals were the most in a season opener since the 2014 season when the Dukes defeated Howard 22-4.
• The Dukes' 13-goal win represents their largest margin of victory since a 25-8 win over St. Bonaventure on April 1, 2016. It is Duquesne's largest margin of victory in a non-conference win since a 19-2 triumph over Saint Francis U on March 11, 2015.

NEXT UP
Duquesne travels to Indianapolis, Ind. to take on Butler on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 3 p.m. before returning to The Bluff for three straight home games against No. 10 Penn State (Feb. 20), Saint Francis U (Feb. 27) and Detroit Mercy (March 3).