PITTSBURGH – A pair of matchups against 2020 College Cup qualifiers highlight the 2021 Duquesne women's soccer schedule released today.
 
The Dukes, under 10^th-year head coach Al Alvine, will open the season with home matches against Saint Francis U (Aug. 22) and Valparaiso (Aug. 27), before traveling on Sunday, Aug. 29 to take on West Virginia. The Mountaineers, who are coming off a 10-2-1 season, qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 21st consecutive year – the fifth-longest streak in the country, last spring.
 
Duquesne will host Saint Louis on Thursday, Sept. 23 under the lights at Rooney Field. The Billikins won the Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament titles for a third consecutive year in 2020-21. They made a third-straight NCAA Championship appearance and were ranked No. 20 in the final United Soccer Coaches national poll.
 
The Dukes will also play non-conference matches against Youngstown State (Sept. 5), at Niagara (Sept. 9) and at Buffalo (Sept. 12).
 
Duquesne opens A-10 play on Sunday, Sept. 19 when it hosts Massachusetts. Other home A-10 matches include Richmond (Sept. 30), La Salle (Oct. 14), and George Washington (Oct. 21).
 
The Dukes will hit the road to take on A-10 foes Saint Joseph's (Sept. 26), Davidson (Oct. 3), George Mason (Oct. 10), and Rhode Island (Oct. 17), before closing the regular-season at St. Bonaventure (Oct. 24).
 
The A-10 Women's Soccer Championship returns to its customary eight-team format this season. Quarterfinal games will take place at campus sites Oct. 30 or 31, while the semifinals and final will be played Nov. 5 and 7, respectively, at a campus site to be determined.
 
Duquesne will play a pair of exhibition matches prior to the season. The Dukes will travel to Kent State on Aug. 8 and host Cleveland State on Aug. 13 at 4 p.m.
 
2021 SCHEDULE QUICK NOTES

• Duquesne and West Virginia are meeting for the first time since 2019. The Mountaineers won that match 2-0 in Morgantown.
• DU has tied WVU twice in the 11-game series, the last of which came in 2012 – Head Coach Al Alvine's first season on the sidelines with the Dukes.
• Duquesne will face members of five different conferences in non-league play. Saint Francis (NEC), Valparaiso and Youngstown State (Horizon), West Virginia (Big 12), Niagara (Metro-Atlantic), and Buffalo (Mid-American).
• The Dukes will play a balanced schedule with eight home matches and eight contests on the road.