Keira Kusmaul | staff writer

Duquesne men’s and women’s soccer teams both battled Dayton this week to a 3-1 score, with the men’s team coming away victorious while the women’s team fell in a hard-fought match.

Cody Da led the men’s soccer team to victory with a brace and an assist at Arthur J. Rooney Field on Saturday night — the team’s first win against Dayton since Oct. 13, 2006.

Dayton struck first, but Duquesne quickly equalized the score with Da’s first goal of the night. Redshirt senior midfielder Jaxon Ervin scored the go-ahead goal two minutes after Duquesne’s first goal, assisted by Da.

Midfielder Pepo Bravo took a free kick just over 20 yards from the goal. The ball was stopped by a mass of players from both teams. Da came out of the group with the ball and took a shot that was bouncing toward the left side of the goal, until Ervin redirected it toward the right corner, just past Dayton goalkeeper Santino Inkpen’s outstretched hands.

“I think it’s just a great feeling,” Da said in an interview with Pittsburgh Soccer Now. “It’s a great confidence builder to build off of going into the next few games, knowing that when our team is flying, we can compete and play against absolutely anybody.”

Da continued to fly in the second half, netting another goal in the 66th minute to seal the win. Breaking up the left wing, he received a pass from junior midfielder Dan Banks, saw an opening and lined a shot to the bottom right corner. He celebrated the goal with a backflip and was swarmed by his teammates and alumni who were watching the game.

“Super proud of the guys,” Duquesne Head Coach Chase Brooks told Pittsburgh Soccer Now. “Proud of the fact that they stuck to our plan and executed exceptionally well tonight, so that’s for the last 20 years.”

Despite getting its 20-year winning streak snapped, Dayton played a solid offensive game, totaling 12 shots. Farouq Ogundare opened the game with a point-blank goal in the 24th minute, off a pass from the endline by Cooper Lijewski.

The Dukes were able to muster 18 shots, with eight of them being on frame. With the win, the Dukes move to 6-2-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play — still undefeated overall at home. Next, the men’s team will take on nationally-ranked University of Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Liv Grenda, Laney Smith and Lauryn Contini each contributed a goal and an assist for Dayton in the women’s matchup Thursday night. Contini tied up the game in the 18th minute, assisted by Bre Mendoza, and Smith scored the go-ahead goal in the 58th minute, assisted by Contini and Grenda.

Standing 15 yards out from the goal, Contini headed a ball to Grenda. Grenda, feeling pressure from the defender on her back, made a no-look pass to Smith, who was cutting through the box. Smith took the ball, held off her defender, and fired into the lower right corner. Duquesne goalkeeper Ali Hughes, decked out in pink for the Pink Out game, attempted a split save but was a second too late.

Dayton was an offensive powerhouse throughout the game, generating 11 shots on goal and 31 shots total.

Despite the loss, Head Coach Jessica Giegucz remains positive about Duquesne’s play.

“The positive for me is that I get to remind the team that we matched physically and pace-wise a very, very good team,” Giegucz said. “Now, they can’t let their level drop for the next one.”

One of the other positives that came out of this game for the Dukes was senior forward Kayla Leseck netting her first goal of the season to open the match.

The Dukes were battling for possession in front of Dayton’s net. Senior forward Anna Bundy headed the ball down, where a Dayton defender tried to clear it. Senior midfielder Kaitlyn Killinger blocked the attempt, then slipped the ball to Leseck, who one-timed it into the top right corner.

“She’s a very creative player,” Giegucz said of Leseck. “She is also an absolute workhorse, so she’s picking up loose balls and getting herself into a lot of really good positions because she just works to get into the right spot to help continue the play moving forward.”

Unfortunately for the Dukes, Leseck’s efforts could not cement the win. With this loss and a 1-0 loss to George Mason on Sunday, the women are 5-6-3 on the season and 2-2-2 in A10. Duquesne’s next game is Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. against Loyola Chicago on the road.

Keira Kusmaul can be reached at kusmaulk@duq.edu