PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne women's soccer team (2-1-1) will travel to Western New York to take on Niagara (3-1) in a non-conference match on Thursday, Sept. 9. The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN

• All-Time Series: Duquesne leads, 5-3-2
• First Meeting: Sept. 11, 1994 at Niagara – NU won, 3-1
• Last Meeting: Sept. 5, 2014 at Duquesne – Tied, 0-0 (2OT) I Recap | Box Score

QUICK HITS

• Duquesne is facing an opponent from the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for the first time since the Dukes played to a 0-0 tie with Niagara in 2014. DU holds a 15-3 record all-time in matches against MAAC institutions.
• The Dukes are coming off of a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Youngstown State on Sunday.
• The Penguins scored in the sixth-minute of the match, but goals Karley Steinher (29') and Emma Bundy (53') propelled Duquesne to the win.
• Bundy's goal was her third of the season. She leads the A-10 and is tied for 68^th in the NCAA with 0.75 goals per game. She also leads the league with 1.75 points per game. All three of Bundy's goals have been scored at Rooney Field.
• Hannah Nguyen collected her third assist of the season on Steinher's goal. She is tied for the league-lead in total assists and also leads the A-10 and ranks 35^th in the NCAA with 0.75 assists per game.
• Duquesne has already scored as many goals this season (7) as they did during the entire nine-game spring season. DU currently leads the A-10 with 1.75 goals scored per game.
• The Dukes attempted 13 shots in the win over YSU, including six on-goal. DU leads the A-10 and ranks 25^th nationally with a shot accuracy of 58.5 percent. Niagara enters the contest ranked sixth in the NCAA with 64.5 percent of its shots on-target.
• Goalkeeper Bella DeFabbo earned the nod between the pipes versus Youngstown State and made four saves to earn her second-career win.
• Fellow Goalkeeper Megan Virgin started each of the team's first three matches. She is 1-1-1 with a .714 save percentage and a 1.86 goals against average.
• The Dukes were picked to finish 10^th in the annual Atlantic 10 women's soccer preseason poll announced last month.

DUQUESNE HEAD COACH AL ALVINE (Robert Morris '92)

• Al Alvine enters his 10^th season as the head coach of the Dukes in 2021.
• The Dukes' all-time winningest coach boasts a record of 68-75-21 on the Bluff and 33-41-9 in Atlantic 10 play.
• Alvine inherited a three-win team prior to the 2012 season and quadrupled that total in four years.
• He set a program record with 12 victories in 2015 – which included the program's first-ever A-10 Championship and NCAA Tournament bid.
• His teams have totaled 11 or more wins three times during his tenure.
• Alvine has coached four First-Team and three Second-Team All-Atlantic 10 picks, including 2017 A-10 Midfielder of the Year Linnea Faccenda.
• He was named the fifth head coach in Duquesne women's soccer history on December 29, 2011.
• Alvine came to the Bluff after spending five seasons as head coach at California University of Pennsylvania, where he went 73-28-11 – including a 38-2-6 mark over his final two seasons with the Vulcans. 

SCOUTING THE PURPLE EAGLES (ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS)

• After opening the season with a 6-2 loss to Buffalo, Niagara has won each of its past three games.
• The Purple Eagles upset Syracuse (4-2) on Aug. 26 and picked up wins over Cornell (5-2) and Cleveland State (3-0) last week.
• Maia MacLean led the way for the Purple Eagles in the most recent win over Cleveland State. She scored twice and was later named the MAAC Freshman of the Week for her efforts.
• Florence Vailancourt leads the team with five goals and four assists (14 points) through just four games. She ranks second in the NCAA with both 1.67 goals per game and 4.00 points per game.
• Niagara was picked to finish seventh in the MAAC preseason poll.
• The Purple Eagles went 2-3 in the spring 2021 season.

NIAGARA HEAD COACH PETER VELTRI (Bethany (W.Va.), '93)

• Peter Veltri is in his 22^nd year as the Purple Eagles head coach.
• A three-time MAAC Coach of the Year, Veltri helped Niagara reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2006.
• Veltri is a 1993 graduate of Bethany College in West Virginia, which is less than 50 miles from Duquesne's campus.
• As a player, he helped lead the Bison to four-straight appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament, including a pair of appearances in the National Semifinals.