GAME 13
George Mason (4-6-2 | 3-1-0 Atlantic 10) vs. Duquesne (8-3-1 | 3-1-0 Atlantic 10)
Sunday, Oct. 5 | 1:00 p.m.
Rooney Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.

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From The Pitch

- The Duquesne University women's soccer team completes a two-game homestand Sunday at Rooney Field with a 1:00 p.m. start against George Mason. Prior to the game, the Dukes will honor their senior class with Senior Day festivities, which includes 11 student-athletes.

- The Patriots and Dukes sit in a three-way tie for third place in the Atlantic 10 standings with a 3-1 conference ledger, joining Rhode Island. Dayton and Saint Louis are atop the standings, as each are 4-0 in league play.

- Opening its homestand with a 3-0 victory over VCU (10/2), Duquesne improved to 5-0 at home this season. During those five games, the Dukes have outscored their opposition, 17-1.

- Senior Mackenzie Muir gave Duquesne the early lead over the Rams with her third goal of the season, which stood as the only score in the opening 45 minutes. Muir ranks third for the Dukes this season in scoring with seven points.

- Senior forwards Brianna Moore and Maya Matesa each added strikes in the second half to help propel Duquesne in its win over VCU, with the goal for Moore her sixth of the campaign and Matesa extending her single-season program standard for goals this year to 12.

- Matesa entered action this weekend ranked second in NCAA Division I in goals (12) and points (27), trailing only Hope Leyba of Colorado out of the Big 12, who has amassed 14 strikes and 29 points. Both Matesa and Leyba have played 12 games.

- Elsewhere among NCAA Division I leaders, Matesa ranks second in the country in per game averages for both shots (5.50) and shots on goal (2.58) while her points per game average of 2.25 sits third.

- Thanks to a goal and an assist in the win over VCU, senior forward Maya Matesa tied the Duquesne single-season record for points (27). The standard was originally established by Audra Mathews (2004-07) as a freshman in 2004.

- Duquesne enters Sunday's contest ranked second in NCAA Division I in shots (22.75) and shots on goal (10.42) per game as well as fifth in corner kicks (7.83) per contest. Elsewhere in the top 20 among the national leaders, the Dukes sit 15th in total goals (29), are tied for 17th in scoring offense (2.42) and rank 19th in goal differential (18).

- The Dukes have registered at least 20 shots in a game eight times this season, including each of their five home games at Rooney Field. In addition, among that total is a season-high 39 shots in a 2-2 draw at Eastern Kentucky (9/21) in Duquesne's non-conference finale, which tied a program single-game record.

- The Dukes are led by head coach Jessica Giegucz, who is in her first year at the helm of the program after spending the last 10 years as the head coach at NCAA Division II Slippery Rock out of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).

- Giegucz was named the sixth head coach in program history at Duquesne Dec. 20, 2024. In 10 seasons leading the Rock, Giegucz compiled an overall record of 104-48-24 (.659). She began her coaching career in Ashland, Wisc., at NCAA Division III Northland College, where she posted a mark of 11-9-1 (.548) in 2014 prior to being tabbed the head coach at Slippery Rock.

- Duquesne's win at Mercyhurst (8/24) marked the 200th game for Jessica Giegucz as a head coach in stints at Northland College, Slippery Rock and Duquesne. In 12 seasons as a head coach, Giegucz owns an overall record of 123-60-26 (.651).

- Duquesne will travel to Saint Louis Sunday, Oct. 12, for a 2:00 p.m. match after hosting George Mason Sunday.

Scouting the Patriots – Located in Fairfax, Va. … George Mason has compiled an overall record of 4-6-2 (.420) during the 2025 season but is 3-1 (.750) in the Atlantic 10 after a 4-0 triumph over St. Bonaventure (10/2) … Redshirt senior Zoë Vidaurre tallied five points in the win over the Bonnies thanks to a pair of goals and an assist and leads the Patriots this season with 12 points … Junior midfielder Molly Starner also found the back of the net twice in the win over St. Bonaventure and overall this season has scored three times … In his second season as head coach at George Mason is Aaron Brunner, who spent two seasons as an assistant at Florida State (2002, 2023) and was part of a coaching staff that helped lead the Seminoles to the national championship in 2023.

Goal Oriented – In giving the Dukes a 2-0 lead in an eventual 3-0 victory over VCU (10/2), senior forward Brianna Moore picked up career strike No. 20. She becomes the fifth player in program history to reach the 20-goal plateau as well as the second this season, joining senior forward Maya Matesa. Matesa added her 24th career goal later against the Rams to settle the final score, leaving her one shy of tying the Duquesne career record that is held by Katie O'Connor (2015-18). Matesa and Moore, meanwhile, are the first pair of teammates in school history to each own 20 career goals.  

Duquesne Career Leaders - Goals

Name (Years)	No.
1. Katie O'Connor (2015-18)	25
2. Maya Matesa (2022-25)	24
3. Audra Mathews (2004-07)	21
4. Erica Carey (2002-05)	20
Brianna Moore (2022-25)	20

Head of the Class – The 11 student-athletes that make up the senior class for Duquesne in 2025 has put up some strong numbers since the beginning of the 2022 season, combining for 166 points thanks to 62 goals and 42 assists. Senior forward Maya Matesa is the program's active career leader for goals with 24, while senior forward Brianna Moore has tallied 20 career strikes. Senior midfielder Mackenzie Muir, meanwhile, is the program's active career leader in assists with 13. Combined, that trio has racked up 55 goals and 28 assists. A member of the senior class for Duquesne was involved in nine consecutive goals scored by the Dukes dating to last season before junior forward Kayla Leseck gave the Dukes a 5-0 lead at Mercyhurst (8/24) with her second career goal at 59:49.

Dynamic Duo – Senior forwards Maya Matesa and Brianna Moore are closing in on rare company as the Dukes get into the thick of their Atlantic 10 schedule. Over the last four seasons, the pair has combined for 103 points thanks to racking up five combined (two goals, assist) in a 3-0 win over VCU (10/2). Matesa and Moore need just two points to become the top scoring tandem on the Bluff, as former Dukes Katie O'Connor (67) and Abby Losco (37) combined for 104 points as teammates from 2015 to 2018.

Adding To The Tally – Senior midfield Reese Kershner collected her first career NCAA Division I goal in a 4-0 win over Youngstown State (9/11), scoring on a rebound in the first half that propelled the Dukes to the win. In addition to the score being the first career goal for Kershner, it was her first game-winning strike, and she became the ninth different member of the senior class to register on the scoresheet during their career on the Bluff.

Did You Know? A member of the senior class has scored 25 of the 29 goals for Duquesne this season, including 10 of the last 11 entering Sunday's game against George Mason.

Alone At The Top – The scoring exploits of senior forward Maya Matesa has her putting together arguably the finest offensive season in program history. In just the ninth match of the 2025 season, Matesa established a new single-season school record for goals, as her strike in a 3-0 win over Richmond (9/21) marked her 11th of the year. The goal snapped a three-way tie atop the list, as midfield Lauren Bracco (2000-03) originally scored 10 goals to establish the record in 2003, a number that was matched in 2015 by forward Katie O'Connor (2015-18). Matesa also established a new Duquesne single-game record with 11 shots in a 4-0 win over Youngstown State (9/11), and she enters Sunday's game with career totals of 24 goals, nine assists and 57 points. Just the fourth player in school history to eclipse the 50-point plateau, Matesa ranks third all-time in the Duquesne career record book for points.

Did You Know? Duquesne is 14-1-1 (.906) over the last four seasons when senior forward Maya Matesa scores a goal. During that stretch, Matesa has scored multiple goals in a game seven times.

Back and Forth – Senior forward Mackenzie Muir notched each of her four goals last season on the home turf of 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. In the 2025 season opener, a 3-2 victory at Kent State (8/17), Muir tied the contest, 2-2, by converting on a penalty kick and in the process collected her first road goal since her freshman year. She added another road goal in a 2-2 draw at Eastern Kentucky (9/14) in Duquesne's non-conference finale and picked up her first home goal of the 2025 season with the eventual game winner in the first half of a 3-0 triumph over VCU (10/2). The Dukes are 9-1-1 (.863) over the last four seasons when Muir finds the back of the net.

Light Up Night – During the 2024 season, Duquesne reached the 90-point plateau for just the seventh time in program history as well as the first time since 2016, when the Dukes scored 97 points. Duquesne finished last year with 93 points, while the school record for points in a season is 104, which came in 2004. Through 12 contests of the 2025 season, the Dukes have amassed 75 points thanks to 29 goals and 17 assists.

Lineup Stalwart – Junior Jayden Sharpless has been a steady presence for the Dukes in the midfield over the last three seasons, as she is the only player in that stretch to have started all 49 games dating to the beginning of the 2023 campaign. Sharpless owns career totals of a goal and an assist on 52 shots, 20 of which have been on frame. Sharpless is also the only field player for the Dukes this season to have played 1,080 out of a possible 1,080 minutes and is slated to make her 50th consecutive start Sunday against the Patriots. In 49 career games, Sharpless has logged a full 90 minutes in 24 of those contests.

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