GAME 16
Saint Joseph's (6-3-7 | 2-1-5 Atlantic 10) vs. Duquesne (9-6-0 | 3-5-0 Atlantic 10)
Thursday, Oct. 23 | 7:00 p.m.
Rooney Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.

Live Stats | Watch | 2024 Roster | 2024 Statistics | Atlantic 10 Standings

From The Pitch

- The Duquesne University women's soccer team closes the home portion of its 2024 regular season Thursday with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff against Saint Joseph's at Rooney Field.

- The Dukes are tied for 10th in the Atlantic 10 standings with La Salle with nine points. Duquesne, which owns a tiebreaker with the Explorers thanks to a 1-0 victory in Philadelphia, Pa., are just two points behind sixth place, which is currently occupied by the Hawks.

- In their last outing, the Dukes dropped a 2-1 decision at VCU (Oct. 17). The Rams opened the scoring at 18:52 before Margey Brown provided the equalizer less than seven minutes later. In the second half, VCU scored the eventual game-winning goal at 64:40 from Kanna Matsuhisa.

- Duquesne finished 1-1 on its two-game road trip, which began with a 1-0 victory at La Salle (Oct. 12). 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 fifth shutout of the 2024 season as well as 15th of her career.

- Duquesne enters Thursday's match ranked third in the Atlantic 10 in scoring offense (2.07), shots (269) and shots on goal (127). The Dukes remain in the top 25 in NCAA Division I both shots and shots on goal, ranking 24th and 19th, respectively.

- Junior forward Margey Brown is tied for fourth in the A-10 in scoring with 23 points, joining Noel Blain of Dayton. Both Brown and Blain own nine goals and five assists this season, with the pair just a point behind Haley Gschrey of La Salle, who has tallied nine goals and six helpers.

- 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 15 matches of the 2024 campaign, with the junior class having accounted for 71 of Duquesne's 90 points (78.9%).

- Duquesne heads back out on the road after hosting Saint Joseph's Thursday, traveling to Fairfax, Va., Sunday, Oct. 27, to take on George Mason in a 1:30 p.m. match in its 2024 regular-season finale.

Scouting the Hawks – Located in Philadelphia, Pa. … Owns a 2-1-5 (.562) mark in Atlantic 10 play and is in sixth place in the conference standings with 11 points … Overall has notched a record of 6-3-7 (.594) … During the month of October, the Hawks have gone 2-0-3 (.700), with ties against Saint Louis, Massachuetts and Rhode Island and a pair of home wins over St. Bonaventure and George Mason, both by the score of 1-0 … St. Joe's is led in scoring by midfielder Natalie Nevins, who owns 11 points with three goals and five assists … Freshman forward Sarah Fisher leads the Hawks in goals with five, including markers in each of the last two games … SJU ranks third in the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense (0.81), having allowed just 13 goals in 16 games … Goalkeeper Kate Cappelletti paces the Atlantic 10 in saves (83) and ranks third in goals against average (0.81) … In her 25th season at the helm at Saint Joseph's is Jess Mannella, who was named the 2016 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year … Thursday's meeting between SJU and Duquesne is the 23rd meeting in an all-time series that dates to 1997 … The Hawks own a 13-3-6 (.727) advantage over the Dukes.

Light Up Night – As the Dukes hit the stretch run of the 2024 season looking to secure a spot in the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship, the offense has been at the forefront. Duquesne reached the 90-point plateau for just the seventh time in program history in its last match as well as reached the threshold for the first time since 2016, when the Dukes scored 97 points. The school record for points in a season is 104, which came in 2004.

Sharp As Iron – Sophomore Jayden Sharpless has been a steady presence for the Dukes in the midfield over the last two seasons, as she is the only player in that stretch to have started all 35 games dating to the beginning of the 2023 campaign. Sharpless ranks fifth for Duquesne this season in minutes played (1,126) and owns 17 shots, including seven on goal.

Defense Wins Championship – 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 29 games for the Dukes at goalkeeper. In earning the start at VCU, Neundorfer registered her 50th career start on the Bluff and also hit 250 saves for her career with three saves against the Rams. Neundorfer is also tied for fourth all-time at Duquesne in victories (22) with Gabby Morrin (2007-10).

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 23 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 136 points over the last three seasons thanks to 48 goals and 40 assists. Moore is the program's active leader in both goals (14) and points (32), while Brown sits second with 31 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.
   
FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and information on Duquesne women's soccer, follow the Dukes on X and Instagram.

Tweet #GoDukes