PHILADELPHIA — A 5-0 fourth-quarter surge lifted the Duquesne lacrosse team to a 14-10 road victory over La Salle on Wednesday afternoon, keeping the Dukes unbeaten in Atlantic 10 play.
Duquesne (5-2, 2-0 A-10) raced out to an 8-1 lead midway through the second quarter, fueled by a first-quarter hat trick from
Corinne Webb and a flurry of three goals in 21 seconds early in the second. La Salle (1-7, 0-2 A-10) responded, trimming the deficit to 9-5 at halftime before shutting out the Dukes in the third quarter (5-0) to take a 10-9 lead.
The Dukes answered with a dominant final frame, outscoring the Explorers 5-0. Freshman
Addison Scanlon tied the game at 10 with a free-position goal before
Haley Reeck put Duquesne back in front with a man-down goal at the 8:46 mark. Reeck struck again five minutes later, while
Gracin Emerson and
Megan Marco added insurance goals to seal the win.
Webb led the Dukes with three goals and an assist, while Reeck, Marco, and
Chelsea Evans each scored twice. Reeck and
Faith Conaty also recorded assists.
Mackenzie Leszczynski extended her scoring streak to 23 games with a second-quarter goal.
Mia Piocquidio opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game.
Kelsea Cooke, Emerson, and Scanlon each converted free-position shots.
Defensively, Duquesne forced a season-high 23 caused turnovers. Reigning A-10 Defensive Player of the Week
Hanna Pawela led the charge with a game-high five caused turnovers and three ground balls. Conaty contributed a career-high four caused turnovers.
Megan LaBorne earned the win in net with five saves, playing all 60 minutes.
Leszczynski controlled six draws, helping Duquesne edge La Salle 14-13 in the category.
The Dukes' 2-0 start in A-10 play is their best since 2014. At 5-2 overall, head coach
Tracy Coyne has matched the best seven-game start by a first-year head coach in program history.
QUOTABLE
"We are very happy to come away from La Salle with a win. After getting off to a fast start, La Salle stayed focused and began chipping away at the lead. We started playing a little tight and making costly tactical errors which allowed them to take the lead.
With our backs against the wall in the last 10 minutes, the team finally responded by making plays. Addison's free-position goal gave us the spark we needed to get over the top. Some of the passing combinations today were flawless. It was fun to watch us execute with such precision
There is no doubt it was absolutely critical to seal the deal and win this game. Starting 2-0 in the A-10 keeps our goal of making the tournament alive. It was another hard-fought victory," said Coach Coyne.
UP NEXT
Duquesne travels to Massachusetts on Saturday for a 12 pm matchup in Amherst.
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