PITTSBURGH - Second-half corner kicks that led to goals from Anna Campanella, Jayden Sharpless, and Anna Bundy helped lift Duquesne women's soccer to a 3-0 victory over Richmond on Sunday afternoon at Rooney Field clinching a spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament.

The Dukes (7-7-4, 4-2-4 A-10), with playoffs on the line, started out strong in the first half outshooting the Spiders (3-11-4, 1-8-1) by a 9-3 margin but the back of the net eluded them.  

That changed as the team came out after halftime. Over the first 10 minutes of the second half, Duquesne racked up four shots and three corner kicks, which led to the first goal of the game.

"I think we emphasized energy and fire too," said Anna Bundy on the energy for the second half. "Like we just needed that last shot and the last follow up just to get that score" 

In the 54th minute, Mackenzie Muir fired a corner in front of the net that Sharpless got a piece of redirecting it into the top right corner for her first goal of the season to go up 1-0. 

The offense kept humming from the corners as Duquesne charted eight corners to Richmond's one in the second half.  

"We don't practice corner kicks probably as much as we should," head coach Al Alvine said. "The reality is you guys can see the makeup of the team. We've got a lot of big kids. Big, strong, powerful kids. So as long as we're getting quality services into the box, we're always going to be dangerous."  

The corners made an impact again as Duquesne went up 2-0 in the 63rd minute after Margey Brown fired a corner in front of the goal, that the Richmond keeper punched into the air, and Anna Campanella put a strong header into the top right corner for her first goal as a Duke.

Brown took another corner in the 71st minute, that got cleared to the front of the semi-circle and Anna Bundy hit the volley into the top left corner for her third goal of the season to merely put the match out of reach at 3-0.  

Keeper Maddy Neundorfer made two saves in route to her eighth shutout of the season, tying her for the most shutouts in a single season. 

"Hard work." Alvine said of Neundorfer. "She's the hardest working kid of the team I've said it before I've spoken to people interviewing us. She's the first one out to practice everyday. The last out of training. She's watching film. She's she's in the weight room, takes the game very seriously, takes being successful very seriously." 

Duquesne outshot the Spiders 17-6 and 4-2 on frame in the match. Sharpless and Muir paced DU with four shots each, while Anna Campanella put both of her shots on target with one in the back of the net.

The Dukes have now clinched the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 2016-17.

UP NEXT
Duquesne has secured the five seed for the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament and will take on fourth-seeded UMass on Friday afternoon at 2 pm in Amherst. The Dukes and Minutewomen played to a 1-1 draw earlier this season at Rooney Field.

POSTGAME INTERVIEW
Head Coach Al Alvine


FOLLOW THE DUKES 
For the latest news and updates for Duquesne women's soccer, follow @DuqWSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.