Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University women's soccer team continued a three-game homestand Sunday and earned back-to-back wins for the first time during the 2026 season with a 1-0 victory over Kent State at Rooney Field. The Dukes improved to 3-2 (.600) overall thanks to the triumph.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
For the second consecutive game, Duquesne took advantage of an early opportunity. Senior
Jayden Sharpless provided a long outlet pass down the near sideline to
Kaitlyn Killinger, who raced to corral the ball before going on the attack. Similar to her goal in the home opener, Killinger went one-on-one with a defender for the Golden Flashes before unleashing a shot with her left foot. She was on target again, unleashing the ball in a tight quarter that got above Kent State goalkeeper Emma Klein and into the top middle of the goal. The goal at 5:30 was the second of the campaign for Killinger and would prove to be the game winner.
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"Her goal was beautiful," head coach
Jessica Giegucz. "I'm really proud of her, because she's striking the ball extremely well. She baits players into one-on-one and is able to get out of it with her footwork, and as you can see that goal proved big for us. Two left-footed goals for her this week says a lot about the work she's putting in."
THE WALL
Kent State would end up owning an advantage in shots in the contest, 16-6, but senior goalkeeper
Ali Hughes was more than up to the task. In matching a career high in saves (7) in each of Duquesne's previous two contests, Hughes exceeded that total Sunday in the win over the Golden Flashes. She posted nine saves in the triumph, pushing her total this season to 30 through the first five games, an average of 6.00 per game. The performance against Kent State Sunday was her second consecutive clean sheet, third of the campaign and 10th over the last two years.
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"We still settle into the defensive third really well," Giegucz said. "Once we settle in, we're extremely organized. Obviously, Ali does a very good job of organizing everybody, and her communication is great. Then, she's just solid making saves. For as often as we've had to defend, not only today but in other games, I'm always confident in what our defense is doing. (Ali) gives us security. You always know she's going to be totally engaged. She can puppeteer before it actually happens."
NOTES
The assist for Sharpless was her first of the season and first since her freshman year in 2023 … Sharpless owns six points (two goals, two assists) in 61 career games, each as a member of the starting lineup ... Sharpless also logged a full 90 minutes for the fifth time to open the 2026 campaign, and joining her against the Golden Flashes was
Reagan Basehore and
Kiley Johnson … Allison Collins posted a game-high four shots for Kent State … The Dukes lead the all-time series with the Golden Flashes, 5-3 (.625), and have won three consecutive games over Kent State … Duquesne is also 5-3 (.635) under Giegucz in one-goal games.
UP NEXT
Duquesne concludes its three-game homestand Thursday, Sept. 3, with a 1:00 p.m. match against Toledo at Rooney Field.
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