Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University women's soccer team opened the home portion of its 2026 campaign Thursday, posting a 2-0 triumph over Akron at Rooney Field. The Dukes evened their overall record on the year at 2-2 (.500).
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Organized early, Duquesne scored both of its goals less than five minutes apart in the first 15 minutes of action. The first came courtesy of sophomore
Brynn Ramsey. Going one-on-one with a defender on the far side after a feed from senior
Kayla Leseck, Ramsey stopped, found her balance and uncorked a shot with her left foot that found the back of the left corner of the net at 11:06. Just over three minutes later, the Dukes were on the attack again. This time it was senior
Kaitlyn Killinger on the near side, who took a pass from senior
Anna Bundy, stopped, found her balance and unleashed a shot with her left foot that found the back of the right corner at 14:39 to give Duquesne a 2-0 advantage.
QUOTABLE
"I'm happy with the way they're attacking," head coach
Jessica Giegucz. "Happy to see them creating lots of opportunities. They're very coachable kids, and when we give them instruction, they're trying to apply it. On top of it, we're still settling in to the group of players that we have and how they play together. We're also defending the box extremely well. We're organized, and our defensive effort has been really disciplined. Carrying that into games when we're going to try and attack a little bit more and open the game up, it's great to see how organized and confident they are defensively."
HELPER HELPER
A year after tying for second in the Atlantic 10 in assists with seven, Leseck collected her first of the 2026 season in the win over the Zips. She moves into a tie for seventh all-time in program history in the category with 11 with a list that also includes Heather Border (1995-97), Erin McKane (1995-98), Erin Marshall (1999-02) and her former teammate,
Maya Matesa (2022-25). Leseck will look to become just the fifth player in school history to accumulate 15 or more career assists.
QUOTABLE
"(Kayla) is one of the most versatile players I've ever coached," Giegucz said. "Watching her move around the field, wherever we need her. She's been named an unsung hero, and there's a reason for it. She plays a very selfless game. We're still learning and growing, but we're continuing to push that offensive effort. Everybody needs to chip in and have a team-first attitude, which they definitely do."
NOTES
Akron owned a 16-9 edge in shots but held an advantage of just one in shots on target, 7-6 … For the second consecutive game senior goalkeeper
Ali Hughes tied a career high in saves, registering seven … Hughes owns nine shutouts in 23 career starts … Senior
Jayden Sharpless, who again logged a full 90 minutes, made her 60th consecutive start since the beginning of the 2023 season … Also playing a full 90 minutes in the win over the Zips were Bundy and seniors
Reagan Basehore and
Kiley Johnson.
UP NEXT
The Dukes will continue a three-game homestand at Rooney Field Sunday, August 30, with a 1:00 p.m. match against Kent State.
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