Duquesne women's soccer opens Atlantic 10 play at home vs. Dayton on Sunday, March 14 at Noon (ESPN+) on Rooney Field. This is the first of eight scheduled conference games for the Dukes, who are competing in the A-10 West Division with Dayton, St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis.

ROONEY FIELD SPRING SPORT ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES

• Due to social distancing requirements and limited seating available at Rooney Field, attendance for home men's and women's soccer matches as well as lacrosse games played this spring is limited to family and friends of participating Duquesne student-athletes.
• In order to ensure the safety of student-athletes and the campus community as a whole, the only fans who will be admitted are those who are listed by DU student-athletes on a monitored, pre-approved pass list.
• Masks must be worn at all times while on campus.
• Walk-up fans will not be permitted.
• Fans will not be permitted to stand along fencing under the Mellon Hall overhang or on Academic Walk.
• Tailgating is prohibited.
• Rooney Field will open to fans 30 minutes prior to the start of the event.
• There will be no field access prior to or following the game.
• Concessions will not be available. Those in attendance are permitted to bring unopened non-alcoholic beverages and snacks. No coolers or large bags will be permitted.
• Parking - Parking for those on pass lists will be available in the Forbes Avenue Parking Garage. Please take the elevator to the 8th Floor and use the walkway between the Duquesne Student Union and College Hall to walk to Rooney Field.
• Please check team schedules on GoDuquesne.com for live stream and live stat links.
• Thank you for your cooperation.
   

THE SPRING SEASON

• The Atlantic 10 has been split into three divisions for conference play. The North Division consists of Fordham, La Salle, UMass, Rhode Island and Saint Joseph's and the South Division is made up of Davidson, George Mason, George Washington, Richmond and VCU.
• Duquesne, which is in the lone four-team division, will play three games against St. Bonaventure, three against Saint Louis and two against Dayton.
• The Dukes were picked to finish ninth out of 14 teams in the A-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll, Saint Louis was picked first, Dayton fourth and St. Bonaventure 13th.
   

THE SERIES

• Dayton leads the all-time series 17-3-2. In matches in Pittsburgh, the Flyers lead 7-1-1.
• The series has taken a dramatic turn in recent years, as the Dukes are 2-1-2 vs. UD in the past five meetings.
• Head coach Al Alvine is 2-3-2 against Dayton.
   

SCOUTING THE DUKES

• Duquesne is coming off a 3-0 loss at Pitt on March 7. It was the lone nonconference match for the Dukes.
• DU used three keepers in the opener: junior Megan Virgin, junior Bella DeFabbo and freshman Maddy Nuendorfer. DeFabbo had three saves, while Virgin and Nuendorfer had one each.
• Alex Saturni led the Dukes with three shots, including one on goal. Freshman Brooke Kirstein had DU's other shot on goal.
• The Dukes graduated one player from last year's 6-8-3 team. DU's entire offense of 22 goals, 15 assists and 59 points is back.
• Atlantic 10 Second Team selection senior Deena DeBaldo returns after tallying nine goals. Her 22 points were the fourth-most in program history.    
• Sophomore Jaimi Araujo had 10 points, including four goals in 2019.
• Megan Virgin returns after starting all 17 games in net for Duquesne last season.
• Head coach Al Alvine, who has led the Dukes to an A-10 postseason appearance in four of the last five seasons, is in his ninth year at DU. Alvine led DU to the program's first A-10 Championship in 2015. He is in his 19th season as a head coach overall.
   

SCOUTING THE FLYERS

• This is the sixth match for the Flyers who played five nonconference games in addition to a scrimmage vs. Akron (W, 3-1).
• The Flyers are 3-2 with wins over Bellarmine (2-0), at Northern Kentucky (2-1) and Marshall (1-0) and losses at Butler (1-4) and vs. Louisville (0-1).
• UD has been playing since Feb. 6.
• This is the first conference match for the Flyers.
• Freshman Itala Gemelli leads UD in shots (11), shots on goal (6) and goals (2).
• Sophomore Jessica Sheldon has a team-high three assists.
• Redshirt junior Carly Becker and sophomore Madelyn Dewey split time at keeper, until Dewey started and logged all 90 minutes in UD's last match vs. Louisville on Mar. 6. Dewey has 11 saves on the season, including four vs. Louisville.

 
NEXT UP
The Dukes host St. Bonaventure on Thursday, March 18 at 3:00 p.m. on Rooney Field (ESPN+).