PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne women's soccer team (3-4-1, 1-1-0 A-10) upset preseason Atlantic 10 favorite Saint Louis (3-6-1, 1-1-0) 3-1 Thursday evening at Rooney Field.
 
Goals by Emma Bundy (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), Jaimi Araujo (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) and Hannah Nguyen (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) helped the Dukes earn the huge victory.
 
The win snaps the Billikens' 29-match unbeaten streak in Atlantic 10 play and a string of 64-straight matches of allowing two or fewer goals. The Dukes also ended their own five-match losing streak against Saint Louis. Duquesne was shutout in each of those five meetings. 
 
Goalkeeper Megan Virgin (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan) made eight saves, including multiple diving stops, to help the Dukes secure the win. Saint Louis enjoyed a 22-to-14 edge in shots and a heavily titled 10-to-1 advantage in corner kicks. 
 
The Dukes opened the contest with a pair of scoring opportunities in the third and fourth minutes. Araujo put a shot on net and had another rung off of the post. She had another attempt in the 24^th minute off of a takeaway that went wide of the net to keep the match scoreless.
 
Duquesne got on the board in the 28^th-minute when Lexy Kendro (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) sent a free-kick into the box that pinballed around, before a sliding Bundy nudged the ball past the goal-line to make the score 1-0.
 
The Billikens answered back in the 34^th-minute on a goal that caromed around, before finding the foot of Lyndsey Heckel who found the back of the net to tie the match heading into halftime.
 
The Dukes had the first scoring opportunity of the second half. Nguyen delivered a cross that found the foot of Bundy, who attempted a shot from inside the box that was denied.
 
DU notched the eventual game-winning goal in the 56^th-minute on a header by Araujo. Bundy crossed the ball to the top of the box and Araujo headed the ball into the top-middle of the goal beyond the reach of the SLU goalkeeper Emily Puricelli to make the score 2-1.
 
Virgin made a trio of highly difficult saves in the 64^th, 67^th and 71^st minutes to preserve the Dukes' lead. 
 
Duquesne notched an insurance goal to put the match away in the 75^th-minute. Saint Louis sent a free kick into the box, but the ensuing counter attack by Nguyen opened a path for her to send a shot from 35 yards out over the out-stretched reach of Puricelli to make the score 3-1.
 
Virgin made another stop late and the Dukes ran out the clock to secure the upset win.

Bundy's goal was her team-leading fifth of the season. She has scored a goal in each of the Dukes five home games at Rooney Field this season.

Araujo matched a career-high with seven shot attempts.
 
The last time Saint Louis lost an Atlantic 10 regular-season match was a 2-0 setback on October 22, 2017 at Fordham. The only other contest in which the Billikens did not win in Atlantic 10 play during that stretch was a 0-0 tie in 2019 against George Mason. That match was halted after 70 minutes due to poor field conditions and a steady rain fall.
 
Saint Louis was on a three-game unbeaten streak entering the night. The Billkens did not allow a goal in any of those matches.
 
The Dukes will travel to Philadelphia on Sunday, Sept. 26 to take on Saint Joseph's in an Atlantic 10 match slated for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
QUOTEABLES
"We knew the potential and ability of our team. It was just a question of coming out strong, having the desire to compete and committing to winning the game. That's what it came down to I thought we were the better team tonight. We wanted it more, we outfought them, we outbattled them and I think we were well worth our win." – Al Alvine, Duquesne women's soccer head coach