GAME 15
Duquesne (9-5-0 | 3-4-0 Atlantic 10) at VCU (2-7-4 | 1-1-4 Atlantic 10)
Thursday, Oct. 17 | 6:00 p.m.
Sports Backers Stadium | Richmond, Va.

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From The Pitch

- The Duquesne University women's soccer team travels to Richmond, Va., Thursday for a 6:00 p.m. match against VCU at Sports Backers Stadium in search of its second straight win.

- The Dukes opened a two-game road trip with a 1-0 victory at La Salle (Oct. 12), as redshirt freshman Hailey Longwell scored the only goal of the match at 52:40, finding the back of the net for the sixth time this season.

- Senior goalkeeper Maddy Neundorfer posted a season-high 10 saves in the win over the Explorers to post her fifth shutout of the 2024 season as well as 15th of her career.

- Duquesne enters Thursday's match ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring offense (2.14), trailing only Dayton (2.71). The Dukes also lead the conference in shots (250), an average of 17.86 per contest than ranks 27th in NCAA Division I. Meanwhile, Duquesne's average of 8.64 shots on goal per game ranks 17th in the country.

- Junior forward Margey Brown ranks fifth in the Atlantic 10 in points with 21, while her classmate, forward Brianna Moore, is tied for sixth in the conference with Bella Recinos of Massachusetts with 18 points.

- A total of nine starters return for the Dukes in 2024, including each of the top three scorers. Junior forward Maya Matesa tied for fifth in the Atlantic 10 in goals (7) last season while posting a team-high 15 points.

- Eleven different Dukes have scored in the first 14 matches of the 2024 campaign, with the junior class having accounted for 69 of Duquesne's 87 points (79.3%).

- Duquesne returns home to Rooney Field for its final home match of the 2024 regular season after taking on the Rams, hosting Saint Joseph's Thursday, Oct. 24, at 7:00 p.m.

Scouting the Rams – Located in Richmond, Va. … Owns a 2-7-4 (.308) overall record during the 2024 season, including 1-1-4 (.500) in the Atlantic 10 … VCU is coming off a 1-0 setback at Saint Louis (Oct. 13), which snapped a four-game streak in which the Rams posted a tie … Each of the three home matches in the Atlantic 10 for VCU has ended in a tie, including scoreless draws against George Mason (Sept. 22) and Loyola Chicago (Oct. 3) and a 1-1 tie against St. Bonaventure (Sept. 29) … Senior midfielder Kanna Matsuhisa paces the Rams in scoring with 11 points thanks to five goals and an assist … Lindsey Martin is in her 12th season as head coach at VCU and picked up her 100th career victory on the sidelines with the Rams last year … Thursday marks the eighth game in the all-time series between VCU and Duquesne, with the Dukes owning a 4-3 (.571) advantage … In the last meeting between the two programs, Duquesne posted a 2-1 win at Rooney Field Sept. 22, 2019.

Defense Wins Championships – Senior Maddy Neundorfer has established herself as the bedrock of the Duquesne defense over the last three seasons, as she has started each of the last 28 games for the Dukes at goalkeeper. Should she be a member of the starting lineup Thursday at VCU, it will mark her 50th career start on the Bluff. Neundorfer is tied for fourth all-time at Duquesne in victories (22) with Gabby Morrin (2007-10) and is just five saves shy of 250 for her career.

Back In The Saddle – Junior Margey Brown snapped a five-game scoreless streak when she set up fellow classmate Maya Matesa for Duquesne's goal at Fordham, as her corner kick led to a header that found the back of the net. It pushed Brown's season total in points for the 2024 season to 21, tops for the Dukes. Thanks to the assist Brown has cracked the top five in the Duquesne single-season record book for points, as she is tied with Lauren Bracco, who scored 21 points during the 23 campaign.

Split The Difference – Junior forward Mackenzie Muir notched her fourth goal of the 2024 season in a 1-0 victory over Rhode Island, scoring on a penalty kick at 67:25. Muir, who scored five points during Duquesne's three-game homestand thanks to two goals and an assist, has scored each of her four goals this season at Rooney Field. That's a stark contrast to her previous four career markers, which all came on the road during her rookie campaign in 2022. Duquesne owns a record of 7-1 (.875) over the last three seasons when Muir finds the back of the net. In addition, six of her eight career markers have been game-winning goals.

Tag Team – The offensive explosive exploits of junior forwards Margey Brown and Brianna Moore have the duo on the cusp of joining some exclusive company at Duquesne. Thanks to season totals of 21 and 18 points, respectively, Brown and Moore are looking to become just the second duo in program history to reach the 20-point threshold in the same season. During the 2004 campaign, forwards Audra Mathews (27), a freshman, and Katie Schwager (23), a senior, combined for 50 points, the most by a duo in a season in school history. Mathews registered eight goals and 11 assists, while Schwager tallied nine goals and five helpers.

Hey, Junior – Margey Brown and Brianna Moore are at the head of a junior class for Duquesne that is putting up some prolific numbers as a group. Thanks to Emma Hospodka picking up her first two career points with a goal in a 7-0 win over Slippery Rock, she is part of a class that has combined for 135 points over the last three seasons thanks to 47 goals and 41 assists. Moore is the program's active leader in both goals (14) and points (32), while Brown sits second with 29 career points. Midfielder Mackenzie Muir, meanwhile, is the program's active career leader in assists (11) and has scored 27 points, while forward Maya Matesa has also tallied 27 points thanks to 11 goals and five assists.
   
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