Pittsburgh, Pa. – Junior goalkeeper
Ali Hughes of the Duquesne University women's soccer team was selected as the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week Monday. In collecting her first career weekly honor, Hughes is the third member of the Dukes to garner weekly accolades this season.
In helping Duquesne go 2-0 on its homestand last week, Hughes, a native of New Kensington, Pa., finished with seven saves and posted a pair of shutouts. In a
3-0 victory over VCU (10/2) to open the homestand, Hughes posted five saves, including a key save in the first half after the Dukes had grabbed a 1-0 lead and the Rams were in search of the equalizer.
Three days later, Hughes added two more saves as Duquesne earned a
1-0 victory over George Mason (10/5) on Senior Day. The win helped the Dukes improve to 6-0 at Rooney Field this season, a stretch in which Duquesne has outscored its opponents, 18-1.
Hughes has been instrumental to the 6-0 start at home for Duquesne. Since Cleveland State scored at 69:40 in an eventual
4-1 victory for the Dukes, Hughes has collected 11 saves in the last four games, posting a clean sheet in each win.
Overall in 13 starts, Hughes has compiled a goals against average of 0.85, a save percentage of .800 and has notched seven shutouts. She is tied for third in the Atlantic 10 in shutouts with Allison Deardorff of Loyola Chicago, is tied for fourth in goals against average and ranks fifth in the circuit in save percentage.
Hughes joins senior forward
Maya Matesa and junior forward
Kaitlyn Killinger in collecting an A-10 weekly honor during the 2025 season. Matesa was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week in
consecutive weeks to
open the year, while Killinger was
bestowed the same plaudits Sept. 22.
Led by head coach
Jessica Giegucz, in her first year leading the program, Duquesne has compiled an overall record of 9-3-1 (.731), including a 4-1 (.800) mark in the A-10. The Dukes have surpassed their conference win total from a year ago and sit in the third place in the league standings, a game behind Dayton and Saint Louis, which are both 5-0.
Duquesne returns to action Sunday, Oct. 12, in St. Louis, Mo., with a 2:00 p.m. ET start against Saint Louis at Hermann Stadium.
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