PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne University women's lacrosse team returns to Atlantic 10 action on Saturday at Rooney Field, taking on Virginia Commonwealth University.
THE BASICS
April 1, 2023 | 12:00 pm | Rooney Field (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
VCU Rams (5-6, 1-3 A-10) vs. Duquesne Dukes (1-10, 0-4 A-10)
Live Stats | Watch Live on ESPN3
BY THE NUMBERS
VCU leads the conference and is 19th in the country in clearing percentage (.905). The Rams are second in the A-10 in free-position % (.485) and save % (.459), while ranking fourth in points per game (15.2) and shots on goal per game (20.1).
Duquesne ranks in the top-five of the A-10 in four stat categories; fourth in caused turnovers per game (8.45), then fifth in ground balls per game (17.64), goals per game (11.3) and shot % (.438).
THE DUKES
Roster | Stats | Schedule
Duquesne is on a seven-game losing streak and will be vying for its first home win (0-6). The Dukes battled the UC Davis Aggies in their non-conference finale at Rooney Field on Wednesday. After a tightly contested first half (12-10 – UC Davis), the Aggies pulled away in the second half claiming a 20-13 victory, and held the DU offense to just three scores. 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. Junior Miranda Held scooped a career-high four ground balls and caused three turnovers for the Dukes. The 20-goals were a season-high allowed for Duquesne.
Leszczynski and Rodriguez-Shaw scored six goals each versus St. Bonaventure earlier this season, 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 10 of the 11 matches this season and is atop the A-10 leaderboard in goals (39) and goals per game (3.55), ranking top-15 in the NCAA in both. The six goals versus SBU tied a career-high for the second time this season. She also leads the conference in shots per game (8.36 – 7th in NCAA) and shots on goal per game (5.64 – 17th in NCAA). Rodriguez-Shaw has dished out an assist in five straight games and had her first multi-assist game versus UC Davis last time out. She ranks third in the conference with 47 points. Rodriguez-Shaw converts at a 39.1% rate from free position and nets 0.82 FP goals per game, the third-most in the A-10.
Mackenzie Leszczynski has 41 points on the season with 32 goals and nine assists, averaging 2.91 goals per game (3rd in A-10). The sophomore from Flourtown, Pa. has scored in all 11 matches with multiple goals in five straight outings. The six goals in the home matchup against St. Bonaventure were a career-high and came on just eight shots. Leszczynski is netting 52.5% of her shots (10th in A-10) and fires 5.55 shots per game with 4.36 going on goal (both 5th in A-10). She leads the team with nine assists and has had one in nine of the 11 outings, including eight straight. Leszczynski ranks fifth in the conference with an even 50% free position percentage and is tied for fourth in free position goals per game (0.73), alongside teammate Chelsea Evans. Leszczynski also averages 5.09 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 seven times and scored in 10 of the 11 games this season, while dishing out four assists. A season-high four goals came in the first win of the season at Youngstown State. Evans leads the A-10 in free-position percentage (66.7%) going 8-for-12, for an average of 0.73 FP goals per game (tied for 4th in A-10). She also has 20 ground balls on the season, one of three Dukes to reach that mark.
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.
Senior Jillian Caroselli has scored in back-to-back games, including a three-goal, one-assist outing at George Mason last Saturday. The West Islip, N.Y. native has 10 goals on the season, the fourth Duke to reach double digits.
Mady Piersielak, a redshirt junior from Fairport, N.Y., has started nine matches and appeared in all 11 in net for Duquesne. She owns a .404 save percentage with 88 saves, the fifth-most in the conference, in 280 shots faced this season. Piersielak has made double-digit saves five times with a season-high 14 versus Saint Joseph's.
Megan LaBorne made her first start in goal for the Dukes on Wednesday against UC Davis. LaBorne has seen action in four games and owns a .359 save percentage with 23 saves on the year, a season-high 11 came in 52 minutes of action at George Mason last Saturday.
Nine Dukes have double-digit ground balls, with sophomore Hanna Pawela leading the way at 31. Pawela ranks fifth in the NCAA and is atop the conference leaderboard in caused turnovers per game (2.36), then is fourth in the A-10 in ground balls per game (2.82). Piersielak is right behind with 30 ground balls averaging 2.73 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 RAMS
Roster | Stats | Schedule
VCU snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday with a convincing 16-5 win over La Salle on the road to earn its first A-10 win of the season.
Four Rams have double-digit goals this season, led by Kelsey McDonnell and Juliana George with 28 and 27, respectively, both ranking in the top-7 of the A-10. George also has a team-high eight assists for 35 points. McDonnell capitalizes on free position opportunities at the second-best rate in the A-10 (64.7%) and averages 1.0 FP goals per game, also second in the A-10 and ninth in Division I.
Meghna Dawar leads the VCU defense holding league's best save percentage (.476), saves per game average (9.09), and third-best goals-against average (10.52). She is the first A-10 keeper to reach 100 saves and has done so in facing 272 shots through 11 starts.
The Rams are 3-3 on the road this season with wins at La Salle (16-5), William & Mary (18-8), and Elon (9-8), while dropping visits to Liberty (15-3), Coastal Carolina (16-7) and Richmond (12-9).
THE SERIES
The Rams have won each of the last four meetings and hold a 4-1 all-time advantage over the Dukes. The lone DU win came in the first-ever matchup on April 8, 2016 in Pittsburgh (12-10). This will be the third match to be played at Rooney Field, with each team winning once. VCU took the last meeting in Pittsburgh, 11-9, in 2018. Four of the five meetings have been decided by three goals or less, including a 13-10 Rams victory on their home field last April.
UP NEXT
The Dukes begin a two-game road stretch on consecutive Saturdays with a trip to UMass on April 8, then head to La Salle on the 15th before returning home for Senior Day on April 22 against George Washington.
Follow Duquesne Lacrosse all season online at GoDuquesne.com, as well as on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@DuqLax).
