GAME 10
Duquesne (6-2-1 | 1-0-0 A-10) at George Washington (3-3-3 | 0-1-0 Atlantic 10)
Thursday, Sept. 25 | 3:00 p.m.
Mount Vernon Athletic Complex | Washington, D.C.

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From The Pitch

- The Duquesne University women's soccer team opens a two-game road trip Thursday in Washington, D.C., with a 3:00 p.m. match against George Washington at the Mount Vernon Athletic Complex.

-The Dukes opened their Atlantic 10 slate with a 3-0 victory over Richmond (9/21) at Rooney Field, improving to 13-15-3 (.458) all-time in conference openers.

- Senior forward Maya Matesa opened the scoring in the win over the Spiders, finding the back of the net at 10:18 to register the eventual game-winning goal.

- Matesa established a new Duquesne single-season record with her goal against Richmond, as it gives her 11 during the 2025 season. Matesa enters Thursday's game at George Washington leading NCAA Division I in goals (11), points (23) and per game averages in both categories at 1.22 and 2.56, respectively. She is also tied for third in the country in shots per game (5.00) with Payton Nutzman of Mercer.

- In the second half of the win over the Spiders, senior forward Brianna Moore gave the Dukes a 2-0 lead early in the second half by scoring on a header at 46:18, while junior forward Kaitlyn Killinger sealed the win at 82:17 with her second goal of the campaign.

- Thanks to a goal and an assist in the win over Richmond, junior forward Kaitlyn Killinger was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week. Killinger joins senior forward Maya Matesa in garnering the accolade this season, as Matesa earned the honor in back-to-back weeks to open the year.

- Duquesne enters Thursday's game at George Washington ranked second in NCAA Division I in shots per game (24.00) and third in shots on goal (11.11) per contest while also ranking fifth in corner kicks (8.56) per game and 10th in scoring offense (2.78).

- The Dukes have registered at least 20 shots in a game six times this season, including 39 in a 2-2 draw at Eastern Kentucky (9/14) in their non-conference finale. The 39 shots tied a program single-game mark.

- 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 121-59-26 (.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 conclude a two-game road swing after taking on the Revolutionaries Thursday by visiting Dayton Sunday, Sept. 28, for a 1:00 p.m. start.

Scouting the Revolutionaries – Located in Washington, D.C. … GW owns an overall record of 3-3-3 (.500) this season after dropping its Atlantic 10 opener at George Mason (9/20), 2-1 … Sophomore forward Kalia Kau leads the Revolutionaries in scoring with five points thanks to a pair of goals and an assist … Graduate student Amelia Booth scored the lone goal for George Washington against the Patriots and owns four points with a goal and two assists … Redshirt freshman Kathleen Ngulefac owns two goals this season for GW … In his second season as head coach of the Revolutionaries is Jeremy Williams (Virginia Tech '12), who was named to his post at GW in December of 2023 … The Dukes are 9-12-3 (.438) all-time against George Washington and snapped a three-game slide in the series with a 3-0 victory at Rooney Field (Oct. 12, 2023) … Forward Maya Matesa scored twice in the last meeting between the two programs, including the final goal of the contest on a penalty kick.

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 154 points thanks to 58 goals and 38 assists. Senior forward Maya Matesa is the program's active career leader for goals with 23, while senior forward Brianna Moore has tallied 18 career strikes. Senior midfielder Mackenzie Muir, meanwhile, is the program's active career leader in assists with 13. Combined, that trio has racked up 51 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 the score being the first career goal for Kershner, it was her first game-winning strike, and she became the ninth different member of the senior class to register on the scoresheet during their career on the Bluff.

Did You Know? A member of the senior class has scored 21 of the 25 goals for Duquesne this season, including six of the last seven entering Thursday's match at George Washington.

Alone At The Top – The scoring exploits of senior forward Maya Matesa has her putting together arguably the finest offensive season in program history. Just nine matches into the 2025 campaign, Matesa has established a new single-season school record for goals, as her strike in a 3-0 win over Richmond (9/21) marked her 11th of the season. The goal snapped a three-way tie atop the list, as midfield Lauren Bracco (2000-03) originally scored 10 goals to establish the record in 2003, a number that was matched in 2015 by forward Katie O'Connor (2015-18). Matesa also established a new Duquesne single-game record with 11 shots in a 4-0 win over Youngstown State (9/11), and she enters Thursday's game with career totals of 23 goals, seven assists and 53 points. Just the fourth player in school history to eclipse the 50-point plateau, Matesa ranks third all-time in the Duquesne career record book for points.

Did You Know? Duquesne is 13-1-1 (.900) 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. She added another road marker in a 2-2 draw at Eastern Kentucky (9/14) in Duquesne's non-conference finale, and the Dukes are 8-1-1 (.850) 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 nine contests of the 2025 season, the Dukes have amassed 62 points thanks to 25 goals and 12 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 46 games dating to the beginning of the 2023 campaign. Sharpless owns career totals of a goal and an assist on 51 shots, 20 of which have been on frame. Sharpless is also the only field player for the Dukes this season to have played 810 out of a possible 810 minutes.

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