Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University women's soccer team dropped its first Atlantic 10 contest Sunday, falling to La Salle, 4-1, at Rooney Field. The Dukes slipped to 6-6-4 (.500) overall during the 2023 season, including 3-1-4 (.625) in the A-10.
Shots throughout the game leaned toward the Explorers, 15-8, with the shots on goal also favoring La Salle (9-5-2 / 7-1 A-10), 12-3.
A free kick in the 21st minute from the right side of the field led to a goal from the Explorers by Ricshya Walker, putting Duquesne down early, 1-0.
La Salle would keep up the offensive pressure as Haley Gschrey fired a long shot from about 18 yards out that ended up in the top left corner of the goal.
Trailing, 2-0, heading into the second half, Duquesne tried to get some pressure going before Alyssa Gargiulo controlled a pass on a corner and hit it on the half-volley to give La Salle their third goal of the game.
A physical contest, a total of four yellow cards were issues, including three to La Salle.
"Today was a tough one," head coach
Al Alvine said. "Every time we play this team it's the same thing. It's always a battle, it's always physical. It's a good rivalry we've developed. They're very committed to what they do. They were able to go the extra mile."
Duquesne was able to get on the board and trim its deficit to 3-1 when
Emma Bundy tapped it under La Salle goalkeeper Michela Auguadro at 62:18. The Explorers responded and picked up the final goal of the contest, with Gargiulo picking up the brace in the 82nd minute.
Maddy Neundorfer finished with eight saves for the Dukes, matching a season high she also recorded in back-to-back games against Davidson (9/14) and Loyola Chicago (9/17).
Duquesne will look to rebound on the road Thursday, Oct. 19, with an 8:00 p.m. tilt against Saint Louis at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. The Dukes currently sit in sixth place in the conference standings with 13 points, while the Billikens lead the A-10 with 22.
"We've got to go and try and get a result, pure and simple," Alvine said. "We've got the ability to do that because we've got a good group of players. It was a bad day at the office, one of those that we all have, so we've got to put it behind us and learn from the mistakes that we made."
Notes - First Half
- La Salle fired two long shots about 20 yards out that Neundorfer caught on the left side of the goal
- A free kick from the right side of the field led to a goal from the Explorers by Ricshya Walker
- La Salle would keep up the offensive pressure as Haley Gschrey fired a long shot from about 18 yards out that ended up in the top left corner of the goal.
Notes - Second Half
- Duquesne's Lindsay Krafchick fired a cross into the middle of the goal before Brianna Moore taps it to the left, allowing Bundy to find the back of the goal and put the Dukes on the board
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