Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University women's soccer team opened its Atlantic 10 schedule Saturday, posting a 2-1 victory over Rhode Island at Rooney Field. The Dukes evened their overall record during the 2026 campaign at 4-4-1 (.500).
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
The Rams (2-4-3 | 0-1-0 A10) grabbed the early lead, 1-0, thanks to a second effort from Kyra Samalonis. Senior goalkeeper
Ali Hughes was able to stop a shot from the midfielder, but the ball bounced back out to Samalonis, who buried the second chance at 19:31 to open the scoring. Just under 15 minutes later, Duquesne was able to grab the equalizer. Senior
Kayla Leseck dribbled down the far side before lifting the ball into the box. Three defenders for the Rams converged in front of senior
Anna Bundy, who was able to avoid the scrum and settle the ball. She pulled back and looked like she was about to shoot before recoiling and unleashing a dart with her left foot that got past Dani Eden at 34:14 to tie the contest, 1-1.
SPOTIFY
Earning her first career NCAA Division I start, freshman
Lily De Jesus helped the Dukes earn the game-winning goal. She lifted a long pass downfield that led to a foot race between senior
Paige Kuisis and Lily Camacho of the Rams. Trying to get inside position, Kuisis was taken down in the box by Camacho, giving Duquesne a penalty kick. Senior
Jayden Sharpless got the call, and she fired a shot that found the upper right corner of the goal at 59:37 to push the Dukes on top. It marked the second goal of the year for Sharpless, with both of her strikes coming on the penalty kick.
QUOTABLE
"Resilient," head coach
Jessica Giegucz said. "We went down a goal but were able to come back. Really proud of the team for the result. (Anna and Jayden) are great leaders and great players, so for them to be able to step up in key moments is what we expect out of them. It's awesome to be able to see them relish those moments."
WALL UP
While the captains came up big for Duquesne in the Atlantic 10 opener, senior
Ali Hughes continues to anchor the defense. She has registered at least five saves in seven consecutive games, posting seven Saturday against URI. During that span she has logged five saves three times, seven saves on three occasions and a career-high nine in a 1-0 victory over Kent State (8/30). So far this season Hughes has posted a 1.11 goals against average to go along with an .839 save percentage and 52 saves.
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"Ali is just so solid," Giegucz said. "It makes everybody behind her feel so confident. She's an amazing goalkeeper, and we're lucky to have her. If we can settle in a little bit earlier, it will be really good for us. Today we did a really good job of being composed under a lot of pressure from a lot of different intangibles of the game. Overall, I'm just really proud of my team for being a composed group."
NOTES
Duquesne improved to 14-15-3 (.484) all-time in Atlantic 10 openers in winning their second consecutive conference lidlifter … Duquesne also beat Rhode Island on a penalty kick in the last meeting
between the two programs, 1-0, Sept. 26, 2024, and has won four straight in the all-time series ... Leseck cracked the top five in program history for career assists against the Rams with her 13th, which moves her into a tie for fifth with former teammate
Mackenzie Muir (2022-25) … A total of six Dukes logged a full 90 minutes, including De Jesus in her first collegiate start … Also logging 90 minutes of action was Bundy, Leseck, Sharpless, and seniors
Reagan Basehore and
Kaitlyn Killinger … Four of the last five games for the Dukes have been decided by one goal, with Duquesne 2-2 in those tilts … The goal for Bundy was the fifth of her career, while the penalty kick for Sharpless that found the back of the net was her third career strike.
UP NEXT
A two-game road trip through Richmond, Va., awaits the Dukes. Duquesne will take on Richmond Thursday, Sept. 24, at 5:00 p.m. before a 1:00 p.m. tilt against VCU Sunday, Sept. 27, in a match that will take place at City Stadium, home of the Richmond Kickers of USL League One.
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