PITTSBURGH — The Duquesne University lacrosse team travels to La Salle on Wednesday afternoon for its first of two road games this week.

GAMEDAY INFO
Mar. 12, 2025 • 2:00 PM • McCarthy Stadium (Philadelphia, PA)

Duquesne Dukes (4-2, 1-0 A-10)
Roster • Schedule • Stats

• Streak: W2
• Last Game: W, 11-10 vs. George Washington (Sat. Mar. 8)
• Next Game: Sat. Mar. 15 at Massachusetts (12 pm)

La Salle Explorers (1-6, 0-1 A-10)
Roster • Schedule • Stats

• Streak: L6
• Last Game: L, 19-6 at St. Bonaventure (Sat. Mar. 8)
• Next Game: Sat. Mar. 15 at Richmond (3:30 pm)

GAMEDAY LINKS

• WATCH ON ESPN+
• LIVE STATS
• DUQ GAME NOTES

SERIES HISTORY

• Duquesne leads 18-8
• Last Meeting: Apr. 13, 2024 at DUQ - W, 12-11
• First Meeting: Apr. 26, 1998 at DUQ - L, 17-16
• Streak: W3
• Home/Away Record: (H) 11-3 / (A) 7-5
• Notes: Dukes fended off a late rally by the Explorers last season, 12-11 ... Dukes made a save with 38 seconds left for the win ... Corinne Webb scored four goals, while Leszczynski and Chang each had two ... DU has won five of the last six meetings, but is 2-2 at La Salle since 2018.

LAST TIME OUT

• Mackenzie Leszczynski scored the game-winning goal with 1:22 remaining, securing Duquesne's 11-10 victory over George Washington in the Atlantic 10 opener.
• Leszczynski extended her scoring streak to 22 games, leading DU with six points (4 goals, 2 assists) ... Tristen Chang recorded her first career hat trick ... Corinne Webb, Mia Piocquidio, Gracin Emerson, and Kelsea Cooke (her first collegiate goal) also scored.
• Hanna Pawela caused six turnovers, moving to second in DU history with 130 career caused turnovers.
• Duquesne led by three after the third quarter — its largest lead of the game — but GW tied it at 10 with 7:19 left ... Megan LaBorne's seventh save less than a minute later kept the game tied, then the Dukes did not allow another shot and forced three turnovers in the final four minutes.
• Leszczynski's goal with 1:22 left off a rebound of Webb's free-position shot that hit the crossbar, and a key turnover forced with 20 seconds remaining sealed the win.

PAWELA PRESTIGE

• Hanna Pawela was named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in her career and first this season after posting 6 CT, 4 GB, and 1 DC in the GW win.
• Pawela is just the second Duke ever to record 130 career caused turnovers - which is the most among all active Division I players.
  • Megan Hungate (1998-01) is DU's record holder with 178 CTs in her career.
• With 141 career ground balls, Pawela is 19 away from ranking in the top-five all-time at DU ... Her ground ball total ranks fourth-most among active Division I players.
• To begin her senior campaign, Pawela leads the Dukes in caused turnovers (2.83 per game — 1st in A-10, 8th in DI), ground balls (3.00/g — 2nd in A-10, 23rd in DI), and draw controls (3.67/g — 9th in A-10)
• Last season, Pawela ranked #1 nationally in caused turnovers per game and #2 in ground balls per game.

ONE-SCORE GAMES

• Four of the first six games have been decided by one goal.
• Duquesne is 3-1 in one-goal contests with wins at Akron (12-11 OT), at Youngstown State (12-11) and vs. George Washington (11-10).
• Mackenzie Leszczynski has scored two of the three game-winners with the OT goal at Akron and the put-back winner last time out vs. GW ... Corinne Webb notched the winner at YSU with 3:45 to play.

SCOUTING LA SALLE

• La Salle enters 1-6 and has dropped six straight.
• Last time out, the Explorers suffered a 19-6 loss at St. Bonaventure in their A-10 opener.
• Senior attacker Katie Johnson leads the team with 13 goals and is coming off her third hat trick of the season.
• The Explorers own a .463 save percentage ... Keeper Mary Babbage leads the A-10 in saves per game (10.0).
• La Salle, who was 3-11 and 2-6 in A-10 play last season, has scored double digits twice this season (15-14 win at Delaware State and 12-11 loss vs. FDU) ... The Explorers have allowed double digits in five of their six losses.

DEFENSIVE DUKES

• In addition to Hanna Pawela's league-leading individual caused turnover mark (2.83/g), Duquesne leads the A-10 and is third nationally as a team in caused turnovers (12.50 per game).
  • Chelsea Evans (2.50/g) is second in the A-10 and freshman Mia Piocquidio (1.33/g) is ninth.
• Pawela (3.00/g) and Evans (2.50/g) are second and seventh, respectively, in the A-10 in ground balls.
  • Last season, Duquesne led the nation in ground balls per game (22.82) and ranked second nationally in caused turnovers per game (14.47).

LESZCZYNSKI THE LEADER

• Mackenzie Leszczynski leads the A-10 in points per game (5.0) with a team-high 18 goals and 12 assists through six games ... She is sixth in the A-10 in goals (3.0 per game) and fifth in assists (2.0 per game).
  • Duquesne ranks third in the A-10, averaging 18.83 points per game (76 goals, 37 assists).
  • Gracin Emerson is tied with Leszczynski for the team lead and fifth-best A-10 assist total (12 / 2.0 per game).
• Leszczynski has scored in every game, highlighted by two five-goal performances and a four-goal game last time out ... She has recorded multiple assists in five straight games, totaling nine goals and five assists in DU's last two wins.
• Leszczynski's 183 career draw controls rank third all-time at DU, just 15 away from second place.
• She is one assist (has 43) and seven goals (has 121) away from breaking into DU's top 10 all-time in both categories.

WITH A WIN ...

• Duquesne would improve to 2-0 in A-10 play, its best start since 2014.
• Tracy Coyne would tie Mike Scerbo (2006) and Corinne Desrosiers (2019) for the best 7-game start (5-2) by a first-year head coach in Duquesne history.
  • Coyne ranks seventh among active Division I coaches with 325 career wins.
  • A Pittsburgh native, Coyne spent the last five seasons at Saint Francis, becoming the all-time wins leader and leading the Red Flash to their first two NEC Tournament appearances ... Coyne was the George Washington head coach from 2015-19.
  • Her career includes 15 years at Notre Dame as the program's founding coach … Led the Irish to six NCAA Tournament appearances, a national semifinal in 2006 and a Big East title in 2009.

A-10 PRESEASON POLL

1. Richmond - 118 (8 first place votes)
2. Massachusetts - 112 (3)
3. Saint Joseph's - 98
4. Davidson - 89
5. VCU - 68
6. St. Bonaventure - 64
7. George Mason - 60
8. George Washington - 41
9. Duquesne - 35
10. La Salle - 22
11. Rhode Island - 19

UP NEXT
Duquesne continues its road stretch at UMass on Saturday at noon, then will return home on March 22 to host VCU.

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