Duquesne W Soccer Has Commanding Victory Over Slippery Rock

Those 434 fans in attendance Monday afternoon, were treated to a barrage of scoring unlike any in the Al Alvine era as the Duquesne Women’s Soccer Team came away with a 7-0 victory over Slippery Rock.

This contest was added towards the end of last week and allowed for the Dukes to stay fresh as opposed to having to go two weeks without a game, this after having a week between the Pitt and Bowling Green matches.

“I think we have great team chemistry both on and off the field,” junior midfielder Emma Hospodka stated. “We are always working for each other and I think that showed today through the win.”

Duquesne is now 3-1 on the season, but has won all three of its home contests to start the campaign for the first time since 2018.

Duquesne’s seven goals were the most by an Alvine-led team by a single goal and tied the third most in program history.

The Dukes last netted this many goals, when it scored nine 9/2/95 against Robert Morris.

In total, Duquesne played 27 as freshmen Zoe Fries, Ayden Gagner and Grace Paczko all made their debuts in Monday’s contest.

Fries ended up recording an assist, on Duquesne’s seventh and final goal, which also served as Hospodka’s first collegiate goal.

Hospodka’s 30 minutes in this contest served as a season high for the junior midfielder.

“It was a great lay off from Zoe at the top of the box and I saw the opportunity to take the shot, recalled Hospodka. “It felt great to score and I was super happy to add to the team’s win.”

The Dukes offense fired 37 shots, 25 of which were on goal. These 37 shots represented the second most in Duquesne history and third most at Rooney Field.

Among those who proved prolific was junior forward Margey Brown. Already once named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week, Brown put together another four-point performance, recording a goal, her sixth of the season, in the 45th minute and assisting on three others.

Brown’s fast start has seen her achieve 16 points this season, which places her towards the top in NCAA DI Women’s Soccer. In four games, Brown has placed herself three points away from tying the 10th place mark for all-time points in a single season. The single season record is Audra Matthews’ 27 points from 2004, with Brown approaching Natalie Trgovic’s 19 points from 1997.

Duquesne achieved needed 5:18 as the first half crept towards the midway point to have a breakthrough.

First, junior captain Mackenzie Muir put one in the back of the net, a second prior to the 19-minute mark, good for her second of the season. Muir’s effort gives her goals in consecutive contests.

Junior forward Brianna Moore made an impact from the bench, scoring a pair of goals 1:30 apart, with Brown having a role in both scores.

The first goal, Duquesne’s second of the afternoon, came from Brown’s pass and the second came from a putback as the initial shot was blocked but a loose ball was capitalized on.

For Moore, this is her first career two-goal game, having scored six goals in her first seasons at Duquesne.

Brown then called her own number, 29 seconds into the second half, thanks to a setup from junior forward Maya Matesa.

Hailey Longwell earned Duquesne’s next two goals, less than five minutes apart. The first came in the 61st minute and the second came from a Brown cross. It was Longwell’s third and fourth goals of the season. This marks the second time that Longwell had a two-goal performance, as she also accomplished this during a season-opening victory against Mercyhurst.

Longwell’s second score also saw Alvine start to get all of his starters off the field. No Duquesne player saw more than 74 minutes on the pitch in this game.

Duquesne would put one more goal together, the aforementioned first of Hospodka’s career. Her goal came off a ball from Fries from just outside the top of the box. Hospodka’s shot successfully went to the upper-left corner of target.

As the Dukes started to get more players involved, Abby Colangelo made her return to the pitch for the contest’s final 10 minutes. This was her first action since 2022.

“It’s great that multiple girls had an opportunity to see the field,” Hospodka explained. “I think it will help greatly with everyone’s confidence and shows that everyone has an important role on the team.”

A Sunday afternoon senior day concludes a three-game homestand for Duquesne as Kent State will come to Rooney Field for a 1 p.m. tilt.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

Duquesne starters (3-1-0)– Maddy Neundorfer (GK), Jayden Sharpless, Kayla Leseck, Margey Brown, Hailey Longwell, Mackenzie Leeder, CeCe Scott, Eva LaVecchia, Mackenzie Muir, Maya Matesa

Slippery Rock starters (0-0-0)– Leah Allman (GK), Libby Zacharyasz, Jordyn Constable, Faith Diffenbacher, Sydney Patrick, Sophia Palermo, Bailey McGee, Sydney Smith, Morgan Sarver, Maddie DeLucio, Nina King

Goals– Mackenzie Muir DUQ (2nd 19′), Brianna Moore DUQ (1st, 23′), Brianna Moore DUQ (2nd, 24′), Margey Brown DUQ (6th, 45′), Hailey Longwell DUQ (3rd, 61′), Hailey Longwell DUQ (4th, 66′), Emma Hospodka DUQ (1st 88′)

Caution– Duquesne bench 43′

Shots– Duquesne 37 (25 on goal), Slippery Rock 4 (all on target)

Corners– Duquesne 5 Slippery Rock 1

Zac Weiss