Alayna Alexander | guest writer

A new head coach was no big deal for Duquesne women’s soccer.

The Dukes are headed to the postseason in Jessica Giegucz’s first season as head coach and in her first season heading a Division I team.

Duquesne took the win over La Salle at Rooney Field on Sunday, with a final score of 4-2.

The victory clinches home field advantage for the Dukes in the A10 tournament, giving Duquesne’s seniors at least one more game at home.

“It’s also a good feeling, because we have that guaranteed extra game in the playoffs,” senior forward Maya Matesa said.

Matesa has scored 17 goals this season, blowing her previous personal record of 7 out of the water.

Giegucz is proud of Matesa and her development not only physically, but also mentally, throughout her four years at Duquesne.

“I’m proud of her, mostly because the impact that she has had happened because she was able to change some of the ways that she’s played in the past,” Giegucz said. “I have worked tirelessly with her from a mentality standpoint, and it’s really a credit to her.”

Matesa scored two goals and had one assist against the Explorers. Her assist came in the first 47 seconds on a goal scored by senior forward Brianna Moore, which was only possible through a throw-in by junior forward Kaitlyn Killinger.

The goal was the quickest the Dukes have scored since Caroline Lacy’s goal 38 seconds into a 2012 game against Cleveland State.

The Dukes continued to pressure early, as a Matesa shot bounced off the crossbar. As junior midfielder

Kayla Leseck fought for the rebound, a handball was called against La Salle, giving the Dukes a penalty kick.

Senior midfielder Mackenzie Muir scored the penalty kick easily, giving Duquesne a quick 2-0 lead.

Matesa’s first goal came from a sharp-angle shot from the left of the post in the 28th minute, with an assist from Leseck. The goal marked the second game in a row where Duquesne has scored three or more goals in the first half.

Matesa acknowledged her teammates’ assistance in her development and domination of the A10. Matesa is the only A10 player on the 2025 Women’s Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List, given to the best player in Division I women’s soccer.

“It’s surreal, I can’t even believe it myself,” Matesa said. “It’s an honor, honestly, and I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”

A floating Kayden Williams header assisted by Jaci Gismondi gave the Explorers a goal with six minutes left in the first half, giving some energy for La Salle to carry to the final 45.

Matesa struck quickly in the second half to make the score 4-1, but the Explorers failed to answer until the 60th minute with a goal from forward Justyce Hollenbach. The Explorers outshot the Dukes 17-12.

Duquesne goalkeeper Ali Hughes had five saves throughout the full 90, tallying 63 saves on the season for a 76.8% save percentage.

Following its victory against La Salle, Duquesne will turn its attention to the postseason. Giegucz said the team will not do anything different in preparation.

“The integrity is high, so we won’t change a lot about how we prepare, but we will make sure to maintain some consistency heading into this week,” Gieguez said.

Matesa is preparing for the postseason through well-earned recovery.

“We want to recover well, we had a game Thursday and then a game Sunday, so it was a quick turnaround time,” Matesa said. “But having this long week to just recover, practice, scout out the team on Saturday, that will be good for us.”

Having a team mainly made up of seniors, the Dukes hope to make a run in the playoffs, allowing its seniors to embrace the pitch a few more times.

No. 3 Duquesne will host No. 6 Fordham on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Rooney Field. La Salle will play at No. 1 Dayton after clinching the 8 seed in the A10 tournament. The Explorers take on the Flyers on Friday at 7 p.m.

Alayna Alexander can be reached at alexandera5@duq.edu