PITTSBURGH -- The Duquesne University lacrosse team fended off a late comeback effort by La Salle and held on for a 12-11 victory on Saturday afternoon at Rooney Field.

Corinne Webb scored her fourth goal of the game with 7:38 to play to put the Dukes up 12-8, but three straight goals by the Explorers ensued to make it 12-11 Duquesne with less than a minute to play. La Salle won the draw control and raced downfield firing a shot inside the arc. Rachel O'Toole was right there for the save to secure the victory. O'Toole finished with a season-high nine saves playing all 60 minutes in net. Five of the nine stops came in the fourth quarter.

The Dukes even their season record to 7-7 and improve to 2-5 in conference play with the win, snapping a four-game losing streak.

Duquesne used an early 7-1 scoring run to take a five-goal lead (7-2) with three minutes left in the first half and went into the break with an 8-3 advantage.

A back-and-forth start to the third quarter saw the Dukes extend their lead to as many as six (11-5) at the 4:03 mark. However, the Explorers took advantage of DU penalties and got right back in the game finishing on a 6-1 run, only to be one goal short thanks to the O'Toole save.

Webb's four-goal outing was a team high, three of which came from the free position where she went 3-for-4. The redshirt sophomore attacker now has a team-high 31 goals on the season and has scored in four consecutive games, while posting her seventh hat trick+ of the season. Webb also had an assist for a game-high five points.

Mackenzie Leszczynski, Jillian Caroselli, and Tristen Chang all scored two goals apiece, while Haley Reeck and Emma Raines added goals to round out the scoring efforts. Leszczynski has now scored 13 straight games with multiple goals in five of the last six. Leszczynski and Chang each dished out an assist as well.

The 12 goals as a team were the most for Duquesne since the win at George Washington (15-14 in overtime) on March 16.

The Dukes fired a season-high 43 shots with 31 on goal. Webb (10 shots - 9 on goal) and Caroselli (10 shots - 6 on goal) paced the attack. Duquesne finished with a +21 shot margin, including a 28-8 shot advantage at the half.

Casey McBride tied her career-high with five caused turnovers to lead the defense, which charted 20 CTs. Junior Hanna Pawela eclipsed 100 caused turnovers for her career also with five this afternoon. Emily King tied her career high with a game-high six ground balls. Caroselli added a career-best five ground balls and three caused turnovers to go with her two scores.

Leszczynski moved into the top-five at Duquesne for career draw controls during the victory. The junior from Flourtown, Pa. native now has 158 for her career, tied for fourth all-time at DU with Meghan Hungate (1998-01).

POSTGAME INTERVIEWS
Head coach Corinne Desrosiers


Rachel O'Toole & Corinne Webb


UP NEXT
Duquesne will wrap up non-conference play on Tuesday night on the road against crosstown rival Robert Morris. First draw is scheduled for 7 pm.

FOLLOW THE DUKES
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