GAME 3
Duquesne (2-0-0) at Mercyhurst (0-2-1)
Sunday, August 24 | 1:00 p.m.
Saxon Stadium | Erie, Pa.

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From The Pitch

- The Duquesne University women's soccer team opens a two-game road trip Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. tilt against Mercyhurst in Erie, Pa., at Saxon Stadium. The Dukes are in search of their first 3-0 start since 1998.

- Duquesne opened the home portion of its 2025 schedule with a 3-0 triumph over Saint Francis (8/21) at Rooney Field. Senior forward Maya Matesa scored twice in the first half, while junior goalkeeper Ali Hughes registered a clean sheet in her first home start.

- The Dukes opened their 31st NCAA Division I season and the Jessica Giegucz era with a 3-2 victory at Kent State (8/17) to open the 2025 season. Duquesne improved to 14-15-2 (.484) all-time in season openers with the win.

- Trailing, 2-0, entering the second half against the Golden Flashes, the Dukes scored three times in the second 45 minutes for the victory, including two goals on a penalty kick separated by 46 seconds, to grab the lead.

- Senior forward Maya Matesa got Duquesne on the board and trimmed the deficit in half, 2-1, with a goal off her left foot at 68:16. The Dukes then got a pair of penalty kicks, with senior forward Mackenzie Muir scoring at 71:01 and Matesa adding another at 71:47 to help Duquesne grab the lead.

- Matesa was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week after her performance in the triumph over the Golden Flashes. It marked her first career A-10 weekly award.

- 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. In 12 seasons as a head coach, Giegucz owns an overall record of 117-57-25 (.651).

- Duquesne returns five starters from a 2024 squad that finished with an overall record of 9-7-1 (.559), including a mark of 3-6-1 (.350) in the Atlantic 10. Included among that group of starters is four of the top six scorers for the Dukes from last year.

- The top returning scorer for Duquesne this season is senior forward Brianna Moore, who finished with 18 points last year thanks to eight goals and two assists. She finished ninth in the Atlantic 10 in points per game (1.06) as well as 10th in points.

- Duquesne closes its two-game road trip after taking on the Lakers Sunday by travelling to Morgantown, W.Va., Thursday, August 28, for a 7:00 p.m. contest with West Virginia.

Scouting the Lakers – Located in Erie, Pa. … Member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) … Mercyhurst opened its 2025 season with a 1-1 tie at home to Northern Kentucky (8/14) before a pair of road losses, including 1-0 at UMBC (8/17) and 4-2 at Oakland (8/21) … Sunday's game completes a home-and-home series that began last year, when the Dukes earned a 6-2 win over the Lakers in their 2024 season opener at Rooney Field (8/15/24) … Mercyhurst finished 4-11-14 (.316) in its first season of NCAA Division I competition last season, including a 3-4-3 (.450) mark in NEC action … Dale White was named head coach at Mercyhurst Feb. 14, 2025, and he is in his first year leading the Lakers.

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 121 points thanks to 44 goals and 33 assists. Senior forward Maya Matesa is the program's active career leader for goals with 16, while senior forward Brianna Moore has tallied 15 career markers. Senior midfielder Mackenzie Muir, meanwhile, is the program's active career leader in assists with 12. Combined, that trio has racked up 40 goals and 22 assists. A member of the senior class for Duquesne has been involved in each of the last eight goals scored by the Dukes dating to last season.

Top of the Charts – The early offensive output for senior forward Maya Matesa, with four goals in the first two games of the year, has her atop the NCAA Division I leaderboard. She paces the country in goals per game (2.00), while her four markers trail only three student-athletes from major conferences. Hope Leyba of Colorado (Big 12), Alivia Stott of Tennessee (SEC) and Alexis Tylenda of Kentucky (SEC) have each scored five goals in three games (1.67 per game) entering action this weekend. Matesa, meanwhile, is tied for sixth all-time at Duquesne in career points (38) with Morgan Herbert (2009-12), while her 16 career goals is in a four-way tie for sixth place in program history.

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. The Dukes also improved to 8-1 (.889) 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.

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 39 games dating to the beginning of the 2023 campaign. Sharpless finished fifth for Duquesne last year in minutes played (1,298) and owns career totals of a goal and an assist on 40 shots, 14 of which have been on goal.

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