PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne University women's lacrosse team hosts St. Bonaventure on Wednesday for an Atlantic 10 battle at Rooney Field.
 
THE BASICS
March 22, 2023 | 4:00 pm | Rooney Field (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
St. Bonaventure (3-6, 1-1 A-10) vs. Duquesne Dukes (1-7, 0-2 A-10)
Live Stats | Watch Live on ESPN+
 
BY THE NUMBERS


 
St. Bonaventure leads the A-10 and is third in the NCAA with a .519 shot percentage. The Bonnies also commit the least amount of fouls in the conference (7.44 per game), which is the fifth-least nationally.
 
Duquesne ranks in the top-five of the A-10 in five stat categories; third in free position percentage (.500), fourth in caused turnovers per game (8.3) and ground balls per game (18.6), then is fifth in shot percentage (.429) and turnovers per game (16.8).
 
THE DUKES
Duquesne enters on a four-match losing streak, most recently falling to Saint Joseph's (16-10) on Saturday in it's A-10 home opener. The Dukes got ahead by as many as three goals near the midway point in the second quarter, but Saint Joseph's, the defending A-10 champions, rattled off a 9-0 run spanning the second and third quarters to turn the tide on way to a six-goal victory. Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw finished with a team-high four points on three early goals and one assist, while Chloe Holmes, Mackenzie Leszczynski and Chelsea Evans added two goals apiece. Leszczynski and Evans each dished out an assist, as well.
 
Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw, a sophomore from Longmeadow, Mass., has scored multiple goals in each of the last seven matches and is atop the A-10 leaderboard in goals per game (3.25) with the third-most goals scored (26). She also leads the conference in shots per game (7.88) and shots on goal per game (5.12). Rodriguez-Shaw has 30 points on the season, adding four assists, including one in each of the last two games, to her league-leading goals. She converts at a 43.8% rate from free position and nets 0.88 goals per game from the free position, the third-most in the A-10.
 
Mackenzie Leszczynski has 25 points on the season with 19 goals and six assists, averaging 2.38 goals per game (7^th in A-10). The sophomore from Flourtown, Pa. has scored in all eight matches, including a career-high five against Stetson on just five shots. Leszczynski's six assists lead the team and she has had one in five straight outings. She ranks top-10 in the conference and leads the team with a 50% free position percentage.
 
The freshman duo, of Chelsea Evans and Chloe Holmes, has made an immediate impact for the Red and Blue, both netting double-digit goals through their first eight collegiate matches. Evans has had multiple goals in five of the eight outings and found the back of the net in seven of the eight, along with four assists. A season-high four goals came in the Dukes' first win of the season at Youngstown State. Holmes has scored in all eight contests totaling 13 goals, while dishing out two assists in her first season in the Red and Blue. She leads the team with a .952 shot on goal percentage, putting 20 of her 21 attempts on target.
 
Mady Piersielak, a redshirt junior from Fairport, N.Y., has started seven matches and appeared in all eight in net for Duquesne. She owns a .403 save percentage with 71 saves in 229 shots faced this season. Piersielak has made double-digit saves in four of the last five matches with a season-high 14 last time out. Five Dukes have double-digit ground balls, with Peirsielak (29) and sophomore Hanna Pawela (21) both in the top-five of the A-10 to lead the way. Pawela is second in the conference and 16^th nationally forcing 2.12 turnovers per game.
 
Duquesne's lone win of the season came at Youngstown State (16-13) on Feb. 24. Rodriguez-Shaw and Evans had four goals apiece, while Rodriguez-Shaw added an assist in the victory.
 
THE BONNIES
After a 1-5 start, St. Bonaventure has won two of its last three matches including a split of its first two A-10 contests. In the conference opener, the Bonnies downed VCU 15-13, then Davidson spoiled their A-10 home opener, 11-10 on Saturday. St. Bonaventure scored two late goals to get within one with three minutes to play, but could not break through as Davidson's goalie saved a pair of shots down the stretch, including a free position shot with 24 seconds remaining.
 
Fiona McGovern is tied with Duquesne's Rodriguez-Shaw with 26 goals on the season ranking third in the A-10, while also leading the team with 10 assists (7^th in A-10) totaling 36 points (4^th in A-10). McGovern accounts for nearly a quarter of the team's shots with 43, which is 19 more than the next closest Bonnie. She nets the third-most free position goals per game (1.44) in the country and is top-five in the conference firing 4.22 shots on goal per game.
 
Jessica Notaro (18) and Abby Hiltz (12) round out three players with double-digit goals. Notaro is second in the A-10 connecting on 66.7% of her free position attempts.
 
Keeper Ashley Herrick has started all nine games and owns a .431 save percentage, with 84 saves which is top-10 in the NCAA and leading the A-10. She also leads the team in ground balls, collecting 21, while Brit Colangelo has scooped up 18.

Two of St. Bonaventure's three wins have come on the road, holding a 2-3 record away from home this season. The Bonnies have had six games decided by four goals or less.
 
THE SERIES
Duquesne has won five straight matchups against the Bonnies and leads the all-time series 20-4. The Dukes have won nine of the last 10 meetings since 2013 and are 7-3 on the home turf against St. Bonaventure. Last season, Duquesne rolled to a 20-12 win on the road in the regular-season finale. All five of the wins on the current stretch have come by seven or more. The streak started with a series-high 24 goals in the 24-14 home win on March 29, 2018. The Dukes average 15.6 goals per game against the Bonnies.
 
UP NEXT
Duquesne travels to George Mason on Saturday. Start time is scheduled for 12 noon in Fairfax, Va.
 
Follow Duquesne Lacrosse all season online at GoDuquesne.com, as well as on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@DuqLax).