Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University women's soccer team suffered its first setback in Atlantic 10 play Thursday, dropping a 3-1 decision to Dayton at Rooney Field. The Dukes slipped to 5-5-3 (.500) overall during the 2026 campaign, including 2-1-2 (.600) in conference play.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Tied, 1-1, entering the second half, the Flyers were able to break the deadlock courtesy of Laney Smith. A ball was lifted into the box by Reese Gallagher, with Duquesne looking to clear courtesy of a header. Lauryn Contini provided a header of her own on the receiving end, with the pass going straight to Liv Grenda. A pass off Grenda's back heel found Smith, who buried the opportunity at 58:18 to push Dayton in front. Grenda would seal the victory just under 20 minutes later, as she was on the receiving end of a pass into the box from Smith. Grenda scored on a header at 76:11 to settle the final score.
QUOTABLE
"The speed of play and the intensity was extremely high today, and I thought we matched that really well," head coach
Jessica Giegucz. "Definitely glass half full. The positive is I get to remind the team that we matched physically and pace-wise a very, very good team. (Dayton) is super dangerous and a team that are going to put a lot of pressure on. We were creating some really good chances tonight, too, and I think we improved in that area of the game. We got in much better places than I think that we have been in recent games."
LESS IS MORE
Dayton opened the game on the attack, getting off seven shots in the first 12 minutes of the contest. The first shot of the game from Smith hit the crossbar, while senior goalkeeper
Ali Hughes made three saves. Increasing the pace, Duquesne was able to strike first. A scrum in the box saw senior
Kaitlyn Killinger provide a touch pass off a header from
Anna Bundy to senior
Kayla Leseck, who was lurking at the top of the box. Leseck unleashed a shot that found the upper right corner of the net at 12:43 and over the outstretched arms of Kasey Cannistraro, who was trying to make a diving save. It marked the first strike of the 2026 season for Leseck as well as the third of her career.
QUOTABLE
"(Kayla's) always deserving of being in that position to put the ball in the back of the net," Giegucz said. "She's a very creative player and is also an absolute workhorse. She's picking up loose balls and getting herself into a lot of really good positions because she just works to get into the right spot to help move the play forward. Really excited for her to score tonight."
NOTES
Dayton found the equalizer just under six minutes after Leseck gave the Dukes the lead, as Contini's floater off a pass from Bre Mendoza found the upper left corner of the net … The Flyers held a 31-12 cushion in shots, including 11-5 on target … Hughes finished with eight saves for Duquesne, the 10th time this season she has registered at least five saves in a game … Leseck is the 11th different member of the Dukes this year to score a goal … UD owned a 6-2 edge in corner kicks … Seniors
Reagan Basehore and
Jayden Sharpless each logged a full 90 minutes.
UP NEXT
The Dukes travel to Fairfax, Va., to open a two-game road trip Sunday, Oct. 11, at 1:00 p.m. against George Mason at George Mason Stadium.
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