Leo Martinez-Valerio | staff writer

Duquesne women’s soccer bounced back after a tough A10 loss at Dayton by stringing together two shutout conference wins, beating Virginia Commonwealth University 3-0 on Thursday before a 1-0 win on Sunday for the team’s Senior Day.

Mackenzie Muir got the scoring started against VCU at the 21st minute mark. The senior midfielder received a pass from fellow senior Maya Matesa, which she then proceeded to bury into the top left corner of the net.

“Our midfield is obviously very strong and we have really great depth,” Head Coach Jessica Giegucz said.

“The relationship that connects our back line and our front line is great.”

The Dukes conjured up their second goal 20 minutes into the second half. A cross was sent into the box by midfielder Reese Kershner, which was met by the foot of senior forward Brianna Moore. Moore tapped the ball over VCU goalkeeper Mia Pongratz for her sixth goal of the season.

“I love to spread the ball wide and try to open up the opponent’s back line as much as possible,” said Giegucz. “Our wide players and our wide play can create a lot of dominance.”

The contest’s third and final goal was scored by Matesa, who netted her team-leading 12th score. Midfielder Kayla Leseck gave her an open feed and Matesa did the rest, tying for third in the country in total goals with the score.

Matesa’s goal brings her just two away from being crowned Duquesne women’s soccer all time leading scorer.  

“It is awesome,” Matesa said on how she feels being so close to the record. “These teammates of mine have really pushed me to do my best, and I love that.”

Moore’s VCU goal put her at 20 career goals, where she joined Matesa as one of five Duquesne athletes to amass 20 or more goals in their career. The duo has also combined for more than 100 total points with 103. They are just two assists away from becoming the all time leading scoring duo behind Katie O’Connor and Abby Losco.

The Dukes’ 3-0 win over VCU can also be largely attributed to junior goalkeeper Ali Hughes and her defensive line. Hughes posted five saves including a clutch 1 v. 1 save at the end of the first half. Senior defender Eva LaVecchia and junior Reagan Basehore played the full 90 minutes, anchoring the back line.

Junior midfielder Jayden Sharpless played every tick of the 90 minutes as well. Sharpless has served as the “Iron Woman” for this year’s squad playing every minute of the season and racking up 50 consecutive starts.

The 3-0 victory against VCU put the Dukes at 3-1 in the A10, firmly putting the Dukes at third place in the conference.

“This was a big game,” Giegucz said. “We talked about how this game was going to potentially separate us from the middle of the pack. Getting over that hurdle and then also getting ourselves continued success is important.”

The Dukes also separated themselves from the pack with their 1-0 win over George Mason University. Sunday’s contest against the Patriots was also Senior Day for Duquesne’s 11 seniors.

Scoring got underway in the 17th minute thanks to junior forward Kaitlynn Killinger. Killinger made a break toward the box where she made a defender miss and then unleashed a laser toward the top corner of the net for the match’s lone goal.

Following Killinger’s goal, the Dukes owned possession for the majority of the contest. The Dukes were able to post an amazing 28 total shots, with 13 of them being on goal. The Matesa-Moore tandem dazzled again, combining for 10 of the 28 total shots.

Hughes earned her seventh shutout of the season while senior defenders LaVecchia and Lindsay Krafchick played all of the match’s 90 minutes. Leseck had a career day where she fired a stunning career-high eight shots, with three being on goal.

With the two wins over the weekend, The Dukes protect their perfect record at Rooney Field, pushing it to 6-0. Duquesne women’s soccer is back in action at Saint Louis University for another A10 matchup on Sunday.

Leo Martinez-Valerio can be reached at martinezvaleril@duq.edu