PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne women's soccer team (4-7-2, 2-4-1 A-10) was defeated 2-1 by La Salle (5-7-2, 3-3-1 A-10) Thursday night at Rooney Field.
 
Ashley Rodriguez (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) converted a penalty-kick for the Dukes' lone goal. Both of her goals this season have come on penalty kicks.
 
Goalkeeper Megan Virgin (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) made six saves, including multiple high-effort stops, but took the loss in net.
 
Virgin made a trio of saves in the first 18 minutes of the match, including a diving stop to deny a goal on a shot headed for the top-corner of the net that kept the game scoreless.
 
La Salle broke though in the 36^th-minute on a ball that barely snuck across the goal line. The initial shot by the Explorers found the cross bar, but Kelli McGroarty's second shot just slipped past Virgin to make the score 1-0.
 
The Duquesne deficit remained the same entering the second half, but a counter-attack on a turnover helped the Dukes knot the contest up. Sarah Wilkinson (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) sent a through-ball to Brooke Shutter (Orefield, Pa./Parkland), who dribbled and drew a foul in the box. Rodriguez took the PK and tucked the ball perfectly into the top-left corner to tie the match at 1-1 in the 55^th-minute.
 
La Salle scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 72^nd-minute on a cross from the left-corner of the field that was headed in past Virgin by Lauren Costello. The Explorers milked away the clock over the final 18 minutes to deal the Dukes just their second loss on Rooney Field this season.
 
La Salle enjoyed a shot advantage of 20-to-7, including an 8-to-2 edge in shots on-goal. The Explorers were granted eight corner kicks to just three for Duquense. 
 
The Dukes will look to bounce back on Sunday, Oct. 17 when they travel to Rhode Island for an Atlantic 10 matchup. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the match will broadcast on ESPN+.