PREVIEW: Dukes Ready to Bounce Back Against Buffalo

PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne women's soccer team takes on Buffalo at home Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET at Rooney Field to try and get back in the win column.

The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and live stats will be available.

SERIES BREAKDOWN

All-Time Series: Duquesne is 2-4-3 against Buffalo all-time.
First Meeting: Oct. 11, 1995 at Duquesne – Duquesne won, 1-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 12, 2021 at Buffalo – Buffalo won, 4-0
Streak: Buffalo, W1

QUICK HITS

Duquesne sits at 2-2 following a loss 2-0 to Drexel on Thursday.
Junior forward Jaimi Araujo scored her first goal of the season at Youngstown State last Thursday while freshman midfielder Mackenzie Muir notched the game-winning goal in the 66^th-minute to clinch the win.
Both of Duquesne's wins this season have been comeback wins, with the first one coming against Ohio in the Dukes' season opener Aug. 18.
Senior midfielder Sarah Wilkinson and freshman forward Maya Matesa scored the two goals to give Duquesne the win against Ohio, 2-1.
Matesa was named A-10 Rookie of the Week Aug. 22 for her performance in the first two games of the season.
It is believed that Duquesne has more true freshmen on its team than any other D-I team in the nation with 17.
The Dukes have eight players that have recorded a point so far through four games. Five of those players have been freshmen.
Sophomore goalkeeper Maddy Neundorfer has recorded the second-most saves in the A-10 so far with 26 despite being the only player in the top seven with less than five games played.
Duquesne was picked to finish in 10th place by the league's coaches, tied with George Washington, in the annual Atlantic 10 women's soccer preseason poll.
The Dukes return eight starters from the 2021 season, including five of their top six scorers.
Sophomore forward Emma Bundy led the team and ranked third in the A-10 with 1.33 points per game and 0.556 goals per game despite playing just nine games due to injury. She made her season debut last Sunday, playing 22 minutes.
Araujo, who also missed time due to injury last season, scored four times and had 10 points on the season. She has a goal and an assist through four games so far.
Sophomore defender Karley Steinher missed the last six games of the season, but still managed to rack up nine points and three goals last year. She has played 318 minutes through four games, the second-most on the team.
Senior defender Ashley Rodriguez started all 16 games last year and tallied the most minutes on the team with 1,483. She scored on two penalty kicks in 2021.
The Dukes averaged 1.188 goals per game last season, which ranked fifth in the A-10.
Duquesne ranked fourth in the A-10 with 6.00 shots on-goal per game and fifth with 11.69 shots per game.
The team was disciplined in 2021, committing the second-least number of fouls in the conference with 129.

DUQUESNE HEAD COACH AL ALVINE (Robert Morris '92)

Al Alvine is in his 11^th season as the head coach of the Dukes in 2022.
The Dukes' all-time winningest coach boasts a record of 72-84-22 on the Bluff and 35-48-10 in Atlantic 10 play. His career mark stands at 202-148-40.
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 72-28-11 – including a 38-2-6 mark over his final two seasons with the Vulcans.

SCOUTING THE BULLS (ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS)

Buffalo has started the year off well with a 3-1 record through four games.
The Dragons' most recent game was against Canisius Thursday, which they won 1-0.
They also have wins over Niagara and Binghamton, with their only loss coming to No. 3 Rutgers.
Forward Jasmine Guerber leads the team with five goals and 11 points.
Guerber was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week Aug. 23 after scoring three goals in the first two games of the season.
Goalkeeper Emily Kelly was named MAC Defensive Player of the Week this past Monday.
The Bulls were picked to finish third in the MAC this season. They had three votes to win the conference.
Buffalo returns 18 players to a team that went 13-4-3 and advanced to the MAC semifinals in 2021.
Shawn Burke is in his ninth season coaching Buffalo. He has an overall record of 80-48-21 with the Bulls.