Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University women's soccer team bounced back from its first loss in Atlantic 10 play Thursday by opening a two-game homestand at Rooney Field with a 3-0 victory over VCU. The Dukes improved to 8-3-1 (.708) overall during the 2025 campaign, including 3-1 (.750) in the A-10.
 
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
A back-and-forth opening segment between the two teams saw Duquesne break through at 20:37. Senior forward Maya Matesa looked to break free in the box, but with three defenders around her she turned and found fellow classmate Mackenzie Muir at the top of the box on the far side in her sweet spot. Reminiscent of her goal at Eastern Kentucky in the non-conference finale for the Dukes, Muir chipped a shot into the upper left of the net, over the outstretched arms of VCU goalkeeper Mia Pongratz, to give Duquesne the early 1-0 advantage.
 
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Rams wasted no time searching for the equalizer, as some slick passing led to Jensyn Lins getting an open opportunity at the goal. Junior goalkeeper Ali Hughes came out for the one-on-one opportunity and came through with the save, as the shot from Lins hit the mid-section of Hughes before breaking free. Ishpreen Marwah was there for the rebound, but her shot missed wide right.
 
QUOTABLE
"The fact that we can have so much confidence in our backline, that just gives us the freedom to be able to do the attacking that we've been asking of the team," head coach Jessica Giegucz said. "Our backline is so solid and composed, and that save from Ali was incredible. It just creates more confidence within the team. It was important and crucial for us to come back home and compete. They made it even more convincing than I had asked them to."
 
SENIOR SURGE
The Dukes earned some breathing room near the midway point of the second half. Senior Reese Kershner provided a perfect cross, and fellow classmate Brianna Moore capitalized, flicking a shot off the side of her right foot that popped over Pongratz at 65:23 to give Duquesne a 2-0 advantage. Punctuating the victory was Matesa, who found the back of the net for the 12th time this season, which leads the Atlantic 10. Matesa took a feed from junior Kayla Leseck and tapped the third strike of the contest into the back of the net at 82:23 to settle the final score.
 
QUOTABLE
"(Brianna and Maya) work so well together, they're very good friends, they communicate well and they care about each other," Giegucz said. "I don't think either one of them actually wants the spotlight. It makes it fun for them to go back-and-forth with taking on the brunt of the pressure that we need to put the ball in the back of the net. They've done a really nice job working together."
 
FOR ALL FUNKIND
Matesa and Moore combined for five points in the win over VCU (4-7-2 | 2-2-0 Atlantic 10) and joined rarified air in the process. Over the last four years, the duo has amassed 103 points, becoming just the second pair of teammates in program history to eclipse 100 career points. Former Dukes Katie O'Connor (67) and Abby Losco (37) combined for 104 points as teammates from 2015 to 2018, and Matesa and Moore are now just two points shy of becoming the top scoring tandem on the Bluff. In addition, Moore's goal Thursday against the Rams was the 20th of her career, helping her become the fifth student-athlete in school history to score at least 20 goals. Moore is tied for fourth in the Duquesne career record book with Erica Carey (2002-05), and her and Matesa (24 career strikes) are the first pair of teammates ever on the Bluff to each own 20 or more goals.
 
NOTES
Muir moved into a tie for fifth all-time on the Bluff for career game-winning goals (7) with Matesa and Morgan Herbert (2009-12) ... Matesa is one goal shy of tying the Duquesne career record that is owned by O'Connor … The three points for Matesa also helped her tie the program single-season mark for points (27) that was originally established by Audra Mathews in 2004 ... Matesa finished with 10 shots against the Rams, including three on goal, marking the second time this season she's reached double digits in shots (single-game school record 11 in a 4-0 win over Youngstown State) … Duquesne outshot VCU, 13-2, in the second half and owned a 26-11 advantage overall … The Dukes also recorded six corner kicks compared to two for the Rams … Hughes finished with five saves in collecting her sixth clean sheet of the year … Senior Eva LaVecchia and junior Reagan Basehore helped anchor the backline, with each playing a full 90 minutes … Junior Jayden Sharpless also logged a full 90 and has started 49 consecutive games for Duquesne … Sharpless has not missed a minute of time this season … Pongratz posted eight saves for VCU, which was led in shots by Y-Van Nguyen with three … The trio of Matesa, Moore and Muir combined for 20 shots, eight of which were on target.
 
UP NEXT
The Dukes close out a two-game homestand Sunday, Oct. 5, with a 1:00 p.m. match against George Mason at Rooney Field. Prior to the game Duquesne will honors its 11 seniors with Senior Day festivities.
 
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