PREVIEW: @DuqWSoccer at St. Bonaventure

Dukes complete regular season with pair of games at SBU

Duquesne women's soccer (1-5-1, 1-4-1) completes the regular season portion of its abbreviated spring schedule with a pair games at St. Bonaventure's (0-6. 0-6) Marra Athletics Complex on Thursday, April 8 (2:00 p.m.) and Sunday, April 11 (12:00 p.m.). Both matches will air on ESPN+.

These are the final two conference games for the Dukes, who are competing in the A-10 West Division with Dayton, St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis.

The Dukes defeated the Bonnies 1-0 in Pittsburgh on Mar. 18.

THE SPRING SEASON

The Atlantic 10 has been split into three divisions for conference play (current standings). 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 is in the lone four-team division with St. Bonaventure (W, 1-0) , Saint Louis (L, 0-1; L, 0-1; L 0-5) and Dayton (T, 1-1 2OT; L, 0-2).
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 VS. ST. BONAVENTURE

Duquesne leads the series 15-9-0, with the Bonnies holding a 6-4-0 lead in matches at Olean, N.Y.
SBU has won four of the past five at Marra Athletics Complex
DU head coach Al Alvine is 1-2 in games at St. Bonaventure.

LAST GAME

No. 20 Saint Louis scored four times in the first half to defeat Duquesne, 5-0, on Sunday afternoon at Rooney Field.
Sarah Wilkinson and Hannah Nguyen led the Dukes with two shots each. Wilkinson had two of the Dukes' five shots on goal.
Emily Puricelli had three saves for the Billikens who outshot the Dukes 16-10.
SLU finished with nine shots on net.

SCOUTING THE DUKES

Duquesne played one non-conference match (a 3-0 loss at Pitt on March 7) prior to A-10 play.
The Dukes, who graduated one player from last year's 6-8-3 team, welcomed back it entire offense of 22 goals, 15 assists and 59 points.
DU enters the weekend looking to end a four-game scoreless streak. Duquesne's last goal came in its 1-0 win over St. Bonaventure on March 18 (Deena DeBaldo 2').
Atlantic 10 Second Team selection senior Deena DeBaldo enters the weekend needing one goal (she has 13) and one point (she has 34) to move into the DU Top 10 in both categories.
DeBaldo and freshman Emma Bundy own DU's two goals this season. Alex Saturni and Tori Kopchak own Duquesne's two assists.
DeBaldo leads the Dukes in shots (22) and shots on goal (12). Lexy Kendro is second in both categories with 13 and six.
DeBaldo's 3.0 shots per game and 1.78 shots on goal per game both rank fifth in the A-10.
Goalkeeper Megan Virgin, who started all 17 games in net for Duquesne last season, ranks fourth in the A-10 with 4.11 saves per game.
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 BONNIES

The Bonnies, who are averaging 3.8 shots per game, have tallied one goal on the season (at Dayton on April 1).
SBU is 0-2 at home with losses to Dayton (0-3) and nationally-ranked Saint Louis (0-4).
St. Bonaventure goalkeeper Mackenzie Nolan leads the A-10 with 7.33 saves per game.

THE FIRST MEETING

Deena DeBaldo scored in the second minute as Duquesne held on for a 1-0 win over the Bonnies on March 18 on Rooney Field.
DeBaldo took a pass from Alex Saturni on the right side of the box 1:36 into the game, and used a right-footed strike to beat St. Bonaventure goalkeeper Mackenzie Nolan.
The Dukes, who limited SBU to just one shot in first half, outshot the Bonnies 21-5, including 11-3 in shots on goal.
DU finished with five corner kicks while St. Bonaventure did not record any.
DeBaldo had seven shots with four on goal. Lexy Kendro added five shots with three coming on goal for Duquesne.
Virgin made three saves for the Dukes.