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Duquesne women dominate GW; remain unbeaten in A10 play

Photo courtesy Zac Weiss

The Duquesne Women’s Soccer Team was up by two goals over George Washington but in the 78th minute had a decision to make, who would take a penalty kick?

None of the Dukes regular PK options were on the field and goalkeeper Maddy Neundorfer pitched her case, which coach Al Alvine ultimately said no to before emphatically calling on forward Maya Matesa to take the kick, later explaining that she deserved it.

It has been a tough stretch for Matesa, a natural goal scorer and striker, who earlier in the game snapped a skid of 618 minutes without scoring a goal, a streak dating back to Sept. 3 and he wanted to continue encouraging his sophomore.

Matesa, who had not attempted a PK since junior year of high school, gathered herself, stepped up and went low left, besting Revolutionary goalkeeper Ainsley Lumpe.

It was Matesa’s fifth goal of the season and the finishing blow to a 3-0 victory Thursday evening at Rooney Field.

The Dukes are one of three undefeated teams in Atlantic 10 play.

“When I see that ball find the back of the net, my confidence shoots right up,” she explained. “I just get in the groove and at that point I just want to play the game I love, it’s fun to play. Coming in here we were really relaxed and that’s how we played tonight. We worked for each other and were happy for each other.”

The low-left finish was Matesa’s calling card in this game as she did it in the 22nd minute off quick passes from both Jayden Sharpless and Lindsay Krafchick.

“She hasn’t scored in a while and when you’re a goal scorer that starts to weigh on your mind a little bit and affect your confidence and every aspect of your game,” stated Alvine. “For her to get that first goal, it was a great finish on her part.”

Margey Brown contributed with her first goal of the season, an effort that came from distance as she possessed the ball just shy of the 45-yard line and as she ran down the field, Lumpe ran to cut off the angle but instead could only watch as the ball found a home in the lower right portion of the goal.

Alvine told the team in the locker room prior to the game’s start to have high tempo, high intensity and high pressure, which from the opening whistle was very much present.

Duquesne possessed the ball at a high level and were able to establish connections, but those sequenced started out mistimed, but through ferocious encouragement from the bench, the timing returned with Matesa’s first goal.

This was what the team had worked on for the two previous days in training as the Dukes were not solely dissatisfied with scoring goals but also the quality of chances that were created.

Duquesne not only outshot GW 30-5 but also 13-1 on frame. Those 30 shots rank fifth in program history at Rooney Field and second in program history.

“We’ve been struggling to get balls in the back of the net, and we’ve been working on it in practice,” Matesa said. “Really coming out here and putting in what we’ve been doing in practice shows that we can do it. This win motivates us to keep going, we can go far.”

The effort also is a noteworthy one in that it was against a Revolutionaries team which was ranked towards the bottom of the A-10, yet Duquesne never eased off of the accelerator.

“We came in here and we didn’t underestimate them for a second,” determined Matesa. “We came in ready to fight and the result showed that.”

Duquesne surpassed Saint Joseph’s by a single point for fifth place in the conference standings as the Hawks were idle. Rhode Island is also a point behind the Dukes.

Massachusetts is a point ahead of Duquesne, however the Dukes have one game more left to play than the Minutewomen, giving them a leg up on hosting.

The Dukes now have three contests remaining with two Sunday home games against La Salle and Richmond sandwiched between a road contest at Saint Louis.

Coming into the season, one clear goal was the desire to host a home game and that is within reach if the team can close the way it desires.

With Alvine playing several players whether based on feel, matchup or overall adjustments, he maintained that this is the deepest Duquesne team he has coached, something which could prove pivotal down the stretch.

“It’s validating absolutely, but it makes us even more hungry so it’s within touching distance,” concluded Alvine. “When it’s that close, and you’ve got two of your last three games at home then it really puts it in for you. We’ve got a big game Sunday against La Salle which will be a battle. If we can come out and create chances like we did tonight, I like our chances against anybody.”

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

Duquesne starters (6-5-4/3-0-4 A-10) – Maddy Neundorfer (GK), Karley Steinher, Libby Majka, Margey Brown, Lindsay Krafchick, Anna Campanella, Jayden Sharpless, Eva LaVecchia, Mackenzie Muir, Brianna Moore, Maya Matesa

George Washington starters (3-9-3/0-6-1 A-10) – Ainsley Lumpe (GK), Avril Silva, Isabel Kelly, Rose Vigran, Addi Verdon, Alexa Meinen, Abby Caoile, Alicia Window, Hope Ku-Dipietro, Caitlyn Cunningham, Kelly Poole

Goals– Maya Matesa DUQ (4th 22′), Margey Brown DUQ (1st 49′), Maya Matesa DUQ (5th 78′ PK)

Shots– Duquesne 30 (13 on frame) GW 5 (1 on frame)

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