PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne University women's lacrosse team dropped its non-conference finale, 20-13, to UC Davis Wednesday evening at Rooney Field.
 
After a tightly contested first-half was battled to 12-10 in favor of the Aggies at the break, UC Davis held the Dukes offense at bay in the second half to secure the win.
 
Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw and Mackenzie Leszczynski led Duquesne with five goals each and accounted for 13, as Rodriguez-Shaw picked up two assists and Leszczynski dished out one.
 
Leszczynski's seven points tied a career-high. She converted her five goals on just seven shot attempts, and had a team-leading eight draw controls for the Red and Blue.
 
The Aggies (7-3) did not waste any time getting on the board, netting two goals in the opening minute. Duquesne (1-10) fought right back and fired in four consecutive scores to take a 4-2 lead with five minutes to play in the first period.
 
Rodriguez-Shaw got the scoring started at the 12:45 mark with a free-position score, then Chelsea Evans capitalized from the same spot just over a minute later tying the game. Less than one minute after Evans tied it up, Leszczynski put DU ahead for the first time with an unassisted, driving score. Rodriguez-Shaw found Leszczynksi cutting through the arc for her second straight goal and the Dukes' fourth to go up two after both sides were kept out of the net for nearly six minutes.
 
UC Davis answered the Duquesne run with its own 4-0 stretch to close out the opening 15 minutes ahead by two (6-4).
 
The goals were flying in for both sides in an action-packed second quarter, as each team netted six, and the Aggies took a 12-10 lead into the locker room. Rodriguez-Shaw scored three, while Leszczynksi, Jillian Caroselli, and Emelie Curtis all added one for the Dukes. Duquesne tied the game twice (7-7 at 8:23 and 8-8 at 6:46), but could not push ahead.
 
The defenses came out strong in the second half. Neither team scored for the first 11 minutes, before Leszczynski netted her fourth of the game near the four-minute mark of the third. The Aggies broke the second-half ice just over 30 seconds later and it sparked a 6-0 run spanning to the early parts of the fourth frame to grab firm hold of the contest. Leszczynski and Rodriguez-Shaw both got their fifth scores of the game in the final quarter, but that would be all the Dukes offense could rally.

Duquesne finished 3-for-4 from the free position and allowed just one FP score. UC Davis outshot the Dukes 40-24 and had a +8-turnover margin.

The 20 goals allowed were a season-high for the DU defense. The Aggies entered the match ranking ninth in Division I in scoring offense.
 
Junior Miranda Held scooped a career-high four ground balls and caused three turnovers for DU.
 
Duquesne will be back home on Saturday against Atlantic 10 foe VCU. Start time is scheduled for noon at Rooney Field.
 
Follow Duquesne Lacrosse all season online at GoDuquesne.com, as well as on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@DuqLax).