PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne University women's lacrosse team is set to host UC Davis for its non-conference finale on Wednesday at Rooney Field.
THE BASICS
March 29, 2023 | 4:00 pm | Rooney Field (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
UC Davis (6-3) vs. Duquesne Dukes (1-9, 0-4 A-10)
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BY THE NUMBERS
UC Davis is ninth in the NCAA in goals per game (15.6) and shots on goal per game (25.11). The Aggies are also 12
th in shots per game (33.3), 13
th in fouls per game (10.8), 14
th in points per game (22.11) and turnovers per game (12.2), then 16
th in free position percentage (.518) and shot percentage (.467).
Duquesne ranks in the top-five of the A-10 in four stat categories; fourth in caused turnovers per game (8.6) and ground balls per game (18.2), then fifth in scoring offense (11.1 goals/g) and shot % (.429).
THE DUKES
Roster | Stats | Schedule
Duquesne is on a six-game losing streak and will be vying for its first home win (0-5). Last time out, the Dukes dropped a tough battle on the road to George Mason (17-11). The Patriots used early 5-1 and 4-0 runs to get ahead, then held a three-goal or more lead the entire second half.
Chelsea Evans scored all three of her goals in the first quarter,
Jillian Caroselli had a team-high four points with a hat trick and one assist, while
Mackenzie Leszczynski and
Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw each had two goals and an assist for DU.
Leszczynski and Rodriguez-Shaw scored six goals each last Wednesday versus St. Bonaventure, becoming the second pair of Dukes teammates in program history to net six goals apiece in a game, joining Kaelin Shaw and Jill Vacanti, who also did it against St. Bonaventure in April of 2016.
Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw, a sophomore from Longmeadow, Mass., has scored multiple goals in nine of the 10 matches this season and is atop the A-10 leaderboard in goals (34) and goals per game (3.4), ranking top-20 in the NCAA in both. The six goals last Wednesday tied a career-high for the second time this season. She also leads the conference in shots per game (8.3 – 7
th in NCAA) and shots on goal per game (5.6 – 15
th in NCAA). Rodriguez-Shaw has dished out an assist in four straight games and has six total on the season for 40 points. She converts at a 36.4% rate from free position and nets 0.8 goals per game from the free position, the third-most in the A-10.
Mackenzie Leszczynski has 35 points on the season with 27 goals and eight assists, averaging 2.70 goals per game (5
th in A-10). The sophomore from Flourtown, Pa. has scored in all 10 matches, the six goals last Wednesday were a career-high and came on just eight shots. Leszczynski is netting 50% of her shots (11
th in A-10) and fires 5.4 shots per game with 4.2 on goal (both 5
th in A-10). She leads the team with eight assists and has had one in eight of the 10 outings, including seven straight. Leszczynski ranks sixth in the conference with a .533 free position percentage and is third in free position goals per game (0.8). She also averages 4.80 draw controls per game, ranking fifth in the A-10.
The freshman duo, of
Chelsea Evans and
Chloe Holmes, has made an immediate impact for the Red and Blue. Evans has had multiple goals in seven of the 10 outings including six of the last seven, and has four assists. A season-high four goals came in the first win of the season at Youngstown State. Holmes scored in the first eight contests totaling 13 goals, while dishing out two assists in her first season. She leads the team with a .920 shot on goal percentage, putting 23 of her 25 attempts on target. Evans ranks second in the A-10 in free position percentage this season (.636), going 7-for-11, and is 10
th in ground balls averaging 2.0 per game.
Mady Piersielak, a redshirt junior from Fairport, N.Y., has started nine matches and appeared in all 10 in net for Duquesne. She owns a .402 save percentage with 82 saves in 263 shots faced this season. Piersielak has made double-digit saves five times with a season-high 14 versus Saint Joseph's.
Eight Dukes have double-digit ground balls, with sophomore
Hanna Pawela leading the way at 30. Pawela ranks fourth in the NCAA and is atop the conference in caused turnovers per game (2.60), then is second in the A-10 in ground balls per game (3.0). Piersielak is right behind averaging 2.9 ground balls per game, sitting at fifth on the A-10 leaderboard.
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 AGGIES
Roster | Stats | Schedule
UC Davis wraps up their stint in the Pittsburgh area at Duquesne after posting a convincing win on Sunday over Robert Morris (17-10), in which they scored at least three goals every quarter including seven in the third frame. The Aggies enter on a two-game win streak, as a 15-12 win over Columbia at home preceded the road trip to Pittsburgh.
Grace Gebhardt (27) and Alex Agnew (20) lead the team in goals scored, while Agnew is the lone player with double-digit assists (17). Gebhart is fourth in the country with an 80% conversion rate from the free position.
Goalkeeper Ashley Lange has started all nine games in net for the Aggies and ranks top-12 in the NCAA in saves (94) and saves per game (10.44). She owns a .480 save percentage, the 25
th-best mark in Division I.
Lauren Hart has a team-leading 15 ground balls, while Ella Brislin has forced eight turnovers and picked up nine ground balls, along with an average of 4.89 draw controls per game.
The lone like-opponent on the Aggies schedule is Kent State, who they downed 18-8 and DU fell to in overtime (16-15).
THE SERIES
This will be the third meeting all-time between the Dukes and Aggies, the first since 2005. Duquesne won both of the previous matchups; 13-5 in 2005 on Rooney Field and 12-3 in 1999 at Davis.
UP NEXT
Duquesne is back in conference play on Saturday hosting VCU for a noon faceoff at Rooney Field.
Follow Duquesne Lacrosse all season online at GoDuquesne.com, as well as on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@DuqLax).
