PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne University women's lacrosse team returns home to host Saint Joseph's on Saturday at Rooney Field for its Atlantic 10 home opener.
 
THE BASICS
March 18, 2023 | 12:00 pm | Rooney Field (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Saint Joseph's Hawks (2-5, 1-0 A10) vs. Duquesne Dukes (1-6, 0-1 A10)
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BY THE NUMBERS

 
Duquesne's .512 free position percentage ranks third in the A10 and the Dukes are fifth in the conference in turnovers caused (8.14).
 
Saint Joseph's 13.3 turnovers per game are the second-least in the A10 and the Hawks are fifth in the conference in shots per game (25.6) and shots on goal per game (18.75).
 
THE DUKES
Duquesne will look to snap a three-game losing streak and claim its first home win (0-3) and conference win (0-1) of the season in its A10 home opener. The Dukes are on the heels of a conference opening loss at Davidson last Saturday (19-7). After falling behind 13-1 at the half, Duquesne rallied for six goals in the second half, but it would not be enough. Mackenzie Leszczynski and Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw had two goals apiece to lead DU.
  
Rodriguez-Shaw, a sophomore from Longmeadow, Mass., has scored multiple goals in each of the last six games and is atop the A10 leaderboard in goals per game (3.29) with the second-most goals scored (23). She also leads the conference in shots per game (8.14) and shots on goal per game (5.14). Rodriguez-Shaw has three assists for 26 points on the season, ranking sixth in the A10.
 
Leszczynski has posted 17 goals and five assists for 22 points so far. The sophomore from Flourtown, Pa. has scored in all seven games this season, including a five-goal effort on just five shots against Stetson.
 
Mady Piersielak, a redshirt junior from Fairport, N.Y., has started six games and appeared in all seven in net for Duquesne. She owns a .390 save percentage with 57 saves in 189 shots faced this season and leads four Dukes in double digits with 22 ground balls on the season.

The Dukes have lost their last three conference home openers with the last win being a 24-14 victory over St. Bonaventure in 2018.
 
THE HAWKS
After a rough non-conference stretch, which saw Saint Joseph's go 1-5 including four straight losses to start the season, the Hawks have regrouped with a dominating 19-0 rout of George Mason last Saturday to begin A10 action.
 
Saint Joseph's has three players with double-digit goals on the season to lead the offense. Bonnie Yu paces the attack with 14 goals and five assists on 30 shots, 25 of which on goal (83.3%), while Maddie Yoder and Riley Evans have 13 and 10 goals, respectively. Lisa Ross has dished out a team-leading six assists.
 
Jordan Concordia defends the net for the Hawks and is leading the A10 in saves per game (9.43) and saves percentage (48.2%).
 
THE SERIES
The Dukes will look to snap a seven-game losing skid against Saint Joseph's, which dates to an overtime loss in 2016 on the road. Last season, Duquesne lost an 11-7 battle on its home turf and each of the last three meetings have been decided by four goals or less.
 
Duquesne leads the all-time series 14-9 that began in 1999. The Dukes won the first nine meetings against the Hawks and 14 of the first 16 before Saint Joseph's recent run. At home against the Hawks, Duquesne is 7-6 all-time with the last win being a dominating 16-1 triumph in April of 2015.
 
UP NEXT
Duquesne will be back home on Wednesday against St. Bonaventure. Start time is scheduled for 4 pm at Rooney Field.
 
Follow Duquesne Lacrosse all season online at GoDuquesne.com, as well as on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@DuqLax).