PITTSBURGH -- The Duquesne University lacrosse team continues its early season homestand on Thursday afternoon when it welcomes Youngstown State to Rooney Field.

GAMEDAY INFO
Thursday, February 22, 2024 | 4:00 PM | Arthur J. Rooney Field
Youngstown State Penguins (0-2, 0-0 MAC) vs. Duquesne Dukes (1-1, 0-0 A-10)

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• DUQ GAME NOTES

SERIES HISTORY 

• Dukes lead 2-0
• Last Meeting: Feb. 24, 2023 at YSU - W, 16-13
• First Meeting: Feb. 14, 2022 at DUQ - W, 19-15
• Streak: W2
• Home/Away Record: (H) 1-0 / (A) 1-0

LAST TIME OUT

• Duquesne bounced back from a tough season opener with a 16-13 comeback victory over Eastern Michigan in its home opener last Thursday.
• The Dukes trailed by as many as four (6-2) early in the second quarter, but a 7-1 second-half scoring run rallied DU to victory.
• Seven Dukes scored in the win ... Mackenzie Leszczynski and Corinne Webb scored four goals each, grad transfer Lindsay Newton posted a hat trick - all in the third quarter -, and Emelie Curtis racked up six points off five assists and one goal ... Curtis' five assists were the most in a game by a Duke since March 2019.
• Hanna Pawela set a new Duquesne single-game record with 10 caused turnovers to lead the defense.
• DU had a +18 turnover margin (33-15, including a 10-1 mark in the third quarter) and outshot the Eagles 31-20 and 26-17 on goal thanks to a near doubling of EMU's shots in the second half (17-9 / 14-7 on goal).
• 25 of the 33 EMU turnovers were caused turnovers by DU, the most CTs by any Division I team throughout the early parts of the 2024 season.
• Duquesne improved to 18-10 in home openers (5-1 under Desrosiers and 11-3 when the home opener is not also the season opener).

RECORD-SETTER EARNS A-10 WEEKLY HONOR

• Junior Hanna Pawela was named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career after she set a single-game DU record with 10 caused turnovers and had a career-best eight ground balls in the win over EMU.
• The 10 caused turnovers are the most by any player in Division I since Elizabeth Small (Sacred Heart) had 10 against Vermont on Feb. 28, 2020 (1,448 days - nearly four years).
• Pawela now leads the NCAA averaging 5.5 caused turnovers per game and is third in ground balls per game (6.0).

SCOUTING THE PENGUINS

• Youngstown State dropped its first two matchups of the season against a pair of Power Five opponents (Oregon - 19-8 / Ohio State - 17-9) ... YSU outscored Ohio State 8-5 in the second half in its last outing, but could not overcome the first half deficit.
• Freshmen Katie Grottenthaler and Lena Cox lead the Penguins with four goals each, while Paige Borkowski paces the defense in net with 20 saves (.400 save percentage).
• This is the start of a three-game road trip for the Penguins ... YSU will also face A-10 members George Washington and St. Bonaventure later this season.
• Head coach Rob Harris is in his first season leading the Penguins after nine years at Division II Davenport.
• YSU is in its fourth season as a program after debuting in 2021.

LAST SEASON VS. YSU

• Duquesne recorded its first win of 2023 at YSU, 16-13, in the last meeting.
• The Dukes went on a 8-1 scoring spurt, capped off by three straight to begin the second half to open up its largest lead of the game (10-5) at the 11:12 mark in the third quarter.
• YSU brought the game within one score three times in the fourth quarter, but DU fended off the comeback attempts and held on for victory holding the Penguins scoreless for the final 7:32.
• Mackenzie Leszczynski posted a hat trick, while Chloe Holmes (2) and Jillian Caroselli (1) added goals to lead the returners ... Chelsea Evans scored four times, but will miss this season's matchup with an injury.

HOME SWEET HOME

• The Dukes are in the midst of a four-game homestand, which is tied for the longest since five straight at Rooney Field in 2014.
• All four of the games during the homestand are against MAC members (Eastern Michigan, Youngstown State, Detroit Mercy, & Akron).

STAT CHECK

• The Dukes rank top five nationally in caused turnovers per game (16.0 - 3rd) and ground balls per game (24.5 - 4th).
• Emelie Curtis is tied for the A-10 lead and is 12th nationally in assists per game (3.0).

WELCOME BACK WEBB

• Corinne Webb has made an immediate impact in the first two games of the season with a team-leading five goals after missing all of 2023 with an injury.

SCORING SPREE

• Duquesne erupted for 16 goals in the home-opening win.
• The Dukes improved to 22-1 in the Desrosiers Era (since 2019) when scoring more than 15 goals.

RETURNING THE CORE

• Duquesne brings back five of its six players that started all 16 games last year (Mackenzie Leszczynski, Chelsea Evans, Chloe Holmes, Emelie Curtis, and Jillian Caroselli) ... The Dukes also return seven of their 10 goal scorers.
• For a full season preview of the 2024 Dukes, click here.

UP NEXT

• The Dukes will be right back in action on Saturday for Senior Day against Detroit Mercy. Game time is scheduled for 12 pm, while Senior Day festivities will occur before warmups.

FOLLOW THE DUKES
Follow Duquesne Lacrosse all season online at GoDuquesne.com, as well as on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@DuqLax).