GAME 8
Duquesne (5-2-0) at Eastern Kentucky (5-1-1)
Sunday, Sept. 14 | 1:00 p.m.
Lexington Sporting Club | Lexington, Ky.

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From The Pitch

- The Duquesne University women's soccer team takes to the road for its final non-conference game of the 2025 season Sunday against Eastern Kentucky. Originally slated to be played in Richmond, Ky., the 1:00 p.m. game has been moved to Lexington, Ky., and will be played at Lexington Sporting Club.

- The Dukes enter Sunday's game coming off a 4-0 victory over Youngstown State (9/11). Senior midfielder Reese Kershner collected her first career NCAA Division I goal to open the scoring at 29:17, the only marker of the first half.

- In the second half against the Penguins, senior forward Maya Matesa found the back of the net twice to notch her third brace of the 2025 season, while senior forward Emma Hospodka capped the victory with her first goal of the campaign at 67:02.

- Senior forward Maya Matesa is the first student-athlete in NCAA Division I this season to reach double digits in goals, as her pair in the win over Youngstown State (9/11) give her 10 on the season. She also sits atop the NCAA leaderboard in goals per game (1.43), points (21) and points per game (3.00).

- As a team, Duquesne leads the Atlantic 10 in goals (20) and points (51), an average of 7.29 points per contest. The Dukes sit 14th in NCAA Division I in scoring offense (2.86) and also rank in the top 10 in the country in per game averages for both shots (21.57) and shots on goal (9.29), averages that rank sixth and ninth, respectively.

- In their last road outing, Duquesne dropped a 1-0 decision at Bowling Green (9/7). The lone goal of the contest came at 26:30, as Emma Stransky of the Falcons scored on a header. The Dukes owned a 16-6 advantage in shots in the contest, including 4-2 in shots on goal.

- Thanks to five goals in victories over Saint Francis (8/21) and at Mercyhurst (8/24), Matesa was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week (8/25) for the second consecutive week to open the 2025 campaign. She is just the third member of the Dukes in school history to earn A-10 weekly honors twice in a season, including the second to earn Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week in consecutive weeks.

- 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 120-59-25 (.650).

- The Dukes return 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 Duquesne from last year.

- The Dukes return home to open their Atlantic 10 schedule after taking on the Colonels, hosting Richmond Sunday, Sept. 21, in a 1:00 p.m. match for Youth Day.

Scouting the Colonels – Located in Richmond, Ky. … Member of the ASUN Conference … EKU has compiled an overall record of 5-1-1 (.786) this year, and Sunday's match against Duquesne, the first ever between the two programs, is the non-conference finale for the Colonels … EKU opened its season with a 3-1 win over Toledo (8/14) and are unbeaten over its last five matches (4-0-1) after suffering its only blemish of the year, a 9-0 loss at Tennessee (8/17) … Sophomore forward Ella Grode tops the Colonels in scoring this season with 12 points courtesy of five goals and a pair of assists … Grode is one of 12 players that have registered on the scoresheet this season for Eastern Kentucky, with junior midfield Chiara Premoli pacing the Colonels with six assists … EKU is led by Matt Cosinuke (Florida Atlantic '09), who is in his seventh season as head coach of the Colonels and owns an overall record of 48-51-15 (.487).

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 146 points thanks to 54 goals and 38 assists. Senior forward Maya Matesa is the program's active career leader for goals with 22, while senior forward Brianna Moore has tallied 16 career markers. Senior midfielder Mackenzie Muir, meanwhile, is the program's active career leader in assists with 13. Combined, that trio has racked up 47 goals and 26 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.

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 it being the first career marker for Kershner, it was her first game-winning goal, and she becomes the ninth different member of the senior class to register on the scoresheet during their career on the Bluff.

Record Pace – The early offensive output for senior forward Maya Matesa has put her in select company in the Duquesne record book. Just seven matches into the 2025 season, Matesa has tied the program single-season record for goals, as her pair in a 4-0 win over Youngstown State (9/11) gives her 10 on the season. Midfield Lauren Bracco (2000-03) originally scored 10 goals to establish the record in 2003, which was matched in 2015 by forward Katie O'Connor (2015-18). Matesa also established a new Duquesne single-game record with 11 shots in the win over the Penguins, and she enters Sunday's game at Eastern Kentucky with career totals of 22 goals, seven assists and 51 points. The performance against YSU for Matesa helped her become just the fourth player in school history to eclipse the 50-point plateau, as she is tied with former forward Linnea Faccenda (2014-17) for third.

Did You Know? Duquesne is 12-1-1 (.893) 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. 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. Through the first seven contests of the 2025 season, the Dukes have amassed 51 points thanks to 20 goals and 11 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 44 games dating to the beginning of the 2023 campaign. Sharpless owns career totals of a goal and an assist on 47 shots, 18 of which have been on frame. Sharpless is also the only field player for the Dukes this season to have played 630 out of a possible 630 minutes.

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