Keira Kusmaul & Noah Fries | staff writer & sports editor

Duquesne men’s and women’s soccer teams both started the conference portions of their respective schedules with wins over Rhode Island on Saturday.

The women had a come-from-behind 2-1 triumph over the Rams before the men would take care of business in the nightcap 1-0.

The wins improved the women’s record to 4-4-1, while the men stayed undefeated at 4-0-2. The men are unbeaten through six games for the second consecutive season.

Captains Anna Bundy and Jayden Sharpless led the Duquesne women’s soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Rhode Island at Arthur J. Rooney Field on Saturday afternoon.

Sharpless buried the game-winning goal in the upper right corner in the 60th minute on a penalty kick drawn by Paige Kuisis. Speeding up the right side, Kuisis received a pass from Lily De Jesus and was tackled by Lily Camacho, who was given a yellow card.

Bundy scored the first goal for the Dukes in the 35th minute. The play started from a throw-in to Kayla Leseck, who collected it and drove to the endline, centering it to Bundy, who was surrounded by three defenders. Bundy won the uneven battle and chipped the ball over the keeper’s shoulder with her left foot.

“They’re great leaders, and we obviously think that they’re great players, so for them to be able to step up in key moments is certainly what we expect out of them, and it’s awesome to see them be able to relish in that,” Head Coach Jessica Giegucz said of the two captains.

Although Duquesne scored two unanswered goals to win, Rhode Island struck first, just 19-and-a-half minutes into the game. Natalie White lofted a free kick to the endline, which was barely kept in by Lauren MacDonald. MacDonald dished it off to Kyra Samalonis, who fired two shots in rapid succession. Duquesne goalkeeper Ali Hughes was unable to recover in time to stop the second shot to her right.

The Rams had the slight edge in shots, attempting 21 to Duquesne’s 17.

Although the start of the season has been a little bit of a rollercoaster, the captains are hopeful for the season ahead.

“I think we’re most excited to just build off of this win,” Bundy said. “We had a little bit of a rough patch in nonconference, and getting this win today just set the bar for what we want to do in conference going forward.”

The women continue A-10 conference play with two road games this week, taking on Richmond Thursday at 5 p.m. and VCU Sunday at 1 p.m.

The men’s matchup was tightly contested throughout the first half, with Rhode Island holding a 6-5 advantage in shots heading into the break. Neither team would be able to find the back of the net in the first 45 minutes.

Just over three minutes into the second half, however, the Dukes would break the game open.

Tyler Kato would gather a cross from Chris Philibin right in front of the net and rattle a right-footed shot home, ricocheting off a Rams defender and goalkeeper before crossing the goal line.

The goal was Kato’s first of the season and second of his Duquesne career. Kato is the fifth Duke to tally a goal in this young season.

“They executed really well and ultimately [were] in the right place at the right time,” Duquesne Head Coach Chris Brooks said.

Duquesne would weather the storm through the rest of the match, and five different Rams would receive a yellow card late in the match. Goalkeeper Sam Coss tallying a career-high six saves (four in the second half) en route to his fourth consecutive clean sheet. Coss has yet to allow a goal at home this season.

Coss’ efforts would result in being honored as the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. He is second in Division I in goals against average (0.33) and third in save percentage (.913).

“Every win is a good win in the A-10,” Brooks said. “You want as close as you can to perfection. I think we were a little off of that tonight, but the guys just performed. They worked their butts off.”

The win was the 100th victory as Head Coach for Brooks. Brooks is also the program’s all time leader in coaching victories and owns a .516 win percentage in his 14 seasons at Duquesne.

The men’s squad will take on nonconference opponent West Virginia on the road Tuesday at 7 p.m. before continuing conference play at Saint Louis on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Keira Kusmaul can be reached at kusmaulk@duq.edu

Noah Fries can be reached at friesn@duq.edu