Rebecca Jozwiak & Ben Deihl | multimedia editor & sports editor

After notching a 1-0 victory against George Washington at Mount Vernon Athletic Complex in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, the Dukes split their two-game road trip on Sunday after falling to Dayton 2-0 at Baujan Field in Dayton, Ohio.

Duquesne quickly went to work against the Revolutionaries: Star senior Brianna Moore etched the only goal of the game, marking her third consecutive game with a goal. Lindsay Krafchick and Maya Matesa were credited with assists for the play.

Moore and Matesa dominated Duquesne’s offensive performance — the duo were responsible for 15 of the 22 shots the Dukes took against George Washington.

The Dukes were able to fire off 22 shots against the Revolutionaries, achieving their average of 22.5. Duquesne was able to double George Washington’s shots, giving the Dukes a much-needed edge.

Duquesne also collected eight corner kicks through the match. The kicks gave the Dukes many opportunities to keep the Revolutionaries in their defensive zone.

Though George Washington was shut out, it kept Duquesne goalkeeper Ali Hughes busy. Attempting nine shots overall, two of the Revolutionaries shot attempts cut it close.

Kathleen Nguleface almost knotted the score in the 67th minute, while Hughes denied Anna Cornejo’s attempted shot attempt in the 85th minute, keeping the shutout alive.

The game was Hughes’ second consecutive shutout, in addition to it being her fifth shutout of the season.

“I think the core [defense], the goalkeeper, the back three plus our holding mid has been very consistent. It’s great to have that reliability,” said Head Coach Jessica Giegucz.

Duquesne’s win against George Washington marked the first 2-0 conference start since the 2016 season. The Dukes moved to 7-2-1 overall on the season.

After a stellar shutout of the Revolutionaries, the Dukes couldn’t put up any points of their own against Dayton, earning its first conference loss of the season.

“We knew their back line was going to be strong,” Moore said. “We were also aware that we’re not going to get the same amount of shots we’ve been getting off against other teams. We’re seeing better teams, so we just need to put away those chances we get.”

Both teams put up a scoreless slate for the first half. Shortly into the second half in the 56th minute, Flyer Liv Grenda whizzed a ball past Hughes, putting her team ahead with her second goal of the season.

Coming out of halftime, Dayton used multiple schematic changes to confuse the Dukes. The Flyers changed their formation and regularly subbed players to keep their legs fresh and Duquesne guessing.

“They have a really good bench,” LaVecchia said. “They’re not just coming in because their starters needed to stop. They were coming in to sprint and they were coming in to score.”

Six minutes later, Dayton’s Olivia Baca sailed a shot past Hughes, thanks to pivotal feeds from Ky Hau-Golden and Baca.

For the second time this season, the Dukes were outshot by their opponent. Though they did not score, the numbers proved that Duquesne still put up a fight before it was shutout: Moore led the team with four shots, while Matesa rifled two shots on goal. Duquesne falls to 7-3-1 on the year, and 2-1 in A10 play.

Defender Jayden Sharpless continued her streak of playing a full 90 minutes in every game. 

“They recognize the task ahead of them, and they’re still on progress for some of the goals we set this season,” Giegucz said. “They’re in a pretty healthy place when it comes to the competition side of things. This one road loss doesn’t set us back from what our goals are.”

Duquesne’s next matchup will be back in Pittsburgh at Rooney Field, facing fellow A10 foe VCU on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Rebecca Jozwiak can be reached at jozwiakr@duq.edu

Ben Deihl can be reached at deihlb1@duq.edu