Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University women's soccer team wrapped up a two-game road trip Thursday, dropping a 2-1 decision to VCU in Richmond, Va., at Sports Backers Stadium. The Dukes, who concluded their road swing with a 1-1 record, dipped to 9-6 (.600) overall during the 2024 season, including 3-5 (.375) in the Atlantic 10.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Tied, 1-1, heading into the second half, the Rams got the eventual game-winning goal at 64:40. Y-Van Nguyen corralled a loose ball and dribbled past a Duquesne defender before skipping a pass to Kanna Matsuhisa. From just outside the box, Matsuhisa lifted a curler that found the upper right of the goal, giving VCU (3-7-4 | 2-1-4 Atlantic 10) a 2-1 edge. The Dukes tried to get the equalizer after the marker from Matsuhisa, unleashing five shots on goal in the final 20 minutes, but three were too high, one was blocked and another was wide left. Duquesne ended up owning a 19-9 cushion in shots, including a 6-5 edge in shots on target.
CURLING
VCU also notched the opening score of the contest, grabbing a 1-0 lead at 18:52. The Rams had a corner kick, and Greta Kraszula was chosen for VCU to kick it from the upper corner. She lofted a ball into the air that went toward the box, but no player from either team was able to touch it, and it curled into the bottom right corner of the goal for the opening score of the game. It marked the first goal of the season for Kraszula. Duquesne was able to get the equalizer less than seven minutes later. VCU's Allison Karpovich made a save on a shot from redshirt freshman
Hailey Longwell at 25:46, but after a throw in for the Dukes, sophomore
Kayla Leseck found junior forward
Margey Brown, who connected with the top left of the net to tie the contest, 1-1, at 25:14.
NOTES
The goal for Brown marked her team-high ninth of the 2024 campaign, helping her become the fifth student-athlete in program history to register at least nine goals in a season … Brown is tied for third in the Duquesne single-season record book for goals with Katie Schwager (2004), Katie O'Connor (2017) and Deena DeBaldo (2019) … Katie O'Connor (2015-18) owns the single-season standard for goals with 10, which was originally established by Lauren Bracco (2000-03) in 2003 ... Brown also tied Katie Schwager (2001-04) for third in points in the single-season annals with 23 … Duquesne has reached the 90-point plateau (90) for the seventh time in program history and the first time since 2016, when the Dukes wrapped up the year with 97 points … The assist for Leseck marked her third of the 2024 season … Karpovich finished with five saves for VCU … Matsuhisa notched her team-high sixth goal of the year for VCU, which was also her second game winner of the campaign ... Junior forwards
Brianna Moore and
Maya Matesa each finished with four shots.
UP NEXT
The Dukes close out the home portion of their 2024 regular-season schedule Thursday, Oct. 24, with a 7:00 p.m. match against Saint Joseph's at Rooney Field.
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