GAME 1
Duquesne (0-0) at Eastern Michigan (0-0)
Wednesday, August 12 | 4:30 p.m.
Scicluna Field | Ypsilanti, Mich.
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From The Pitch
- The Duquesne University women's soccer team opens its 2026 season and 32nd year of NCAA Division I soccer Wednesday with a 4:30 p.m. game against Eastern Michigan at Scicluna Field in Ypsilanti, Mich.
- The Dukes finished with an overall record of 12-5-2 (.654) last year under first-year head coach
Jessica Giegucz, including a mark of 7-3 (.700) in the Atlantic 10. Duquesne, which tied a program record for victories, hosted its first Atlantic 10 Championship game since 2017.
- The Dukes return five starters from last season, including forwards
Kaitlyn Killinger and
Kayla Leseck, who combined for 20 points courtesy of five goals and 10 assists. Killinger and Leseck each started all 19 games for Duquesne in 2025, with Killinger posting four goals and three assists and Leseck tying for second in the A10 in assists (7) with Izzy Luebbert of Saint Louis and Liina Tervo of Fordham.
- According to a
poll of Atlantic 10 head coaches, the Dukes have been picked to finish sixth in the conference in 2026. Dayton was tabbed the preseason favorite with 188 points. Saint Louis was picked to finish second, followed by Rhode Island, Fordham and Loyola Chicago.
- Leseck is the program's active leading scorer entering the 2026 campaign with 14 points in 56 career games, including 35 starting assignments. She owns two goals and 10 assists over the last three seasons on the Bluff, with her career assist total ranking 11th all-time in program history.
- Killinger enters her second year at Duquesne after spending her first two years of NCAA Division I soccer at Pittsburgh. The local product out of Plum, Pa., fired 43 shots last year, 26 of which were on net.
- The Dukes established single-season school records last year in goals (44) and points (113).
- Duquesne closed the 2025 season ranked third in NCAA Division I in shots on goal per game (10.16), fourth in shots per game (21.74) and 16th in scoring offense (2.32). The Dukes also ranked 27th in the country in goal differential (+24).
- The Dukes registered at least 20 shots in a game 11 times last year, including eight of their nine games at Rooney Field. Among that total was a season-high 39 shots in a 2-2 draw at Eastern Kentucky (9/21/25) in Duquesne's non-conference finale, which tied a program single-game record.
- The Dukes are led by head coach
Jessica Giegucz, who is in her second year at the helm of the program after spending 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 (8/24/25) 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 127-62-27 (.650).
- Wednesday's 2026 season opener at Eastern Michigan is the first of a three-game road trip to open the year. The Dukes will also visit Cleveland State (August 20) and West Virginia (August 23) before their first home game of the season at Rooney Field Thursday, August 27, against Akron.
Scouting the Eagles – Located in Ypsilanti, Mich. … Finished with an overall record of 6-8-4 (.444) last season, including a 4-4-4 (.500) mark in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) … The 2026 campaign is the third season for Taylor Clarke (Saginaw Valley State '14) as head coach at EMU … Wednesday marks the third meeting in the all-time series between the Eagles and Dukes, with Eastern Michigan having won each of the first two games … The first meeting between Duquesne and EMU came in Mount Pleasant, Mich., home of the Central Michigan Chippewas, in 1999, with the Eagles earning a 2-0 win … Eastern Michigan also earned a 1-0 win over the Dukes August 29, 2004, in Bowling Green, Ohio … Wednesday marks the first time the Dukes will face EMU in a true road game.
Lineup Stalwart – Senior
Jayden Sharpless has been a steady presence for the Dukes in the midfield throughout her career, as she enters the 2026 season as the only player for Duquesne to have started all 56 games dating to the beginning of the 2023 campaign. Sharpless owns career totals of a goal and an assist on 55 shots, 21 of which have been on frame. Sharpless was also the only field player for the Dukes last year to have played 1,730 out of a possible 1,730 minutes. She made her 50th consecutive start in a 1-0 win over George Mason (10/5/25) last season and in 56 career games, Sharpless has logged a full game in 55.4 percent (31-of-56) of those contests. Included in that total is a career-high 110 minutes against Fordham in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Atlantic 10 Championship.
The Back Line – While the offense earned plenty of headlines for the Dukes last season, the season Duquesne put together wouldn't have been possible without the solid play of the defense. Goalkeeper
Ali Hughes was a key component, as she set a new Duquesne single-season record for goalkeeper wins with 12. Hughes started each of Duquesne's 19 games in 2025, logging a full 1,730 minutes while compiling a 1.05 goals against average, 70 saves and a .778 save percentage.
Captain O Captain – Serving as team captains for Duquesne in 2026 are seniors
Jayden Sharpless and
Anna Bundy. Bundy started all 19 games for the Dukes last season and has appeared in 54 contests throughout her career on the Bluff, registering four goals and nine points. She was named to the 2023 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.
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