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Duquesne W Soccer Proves Opportunistic In Senior Day Triumph

As the Duquesne Women’s Soccer Team went to the locker time for the last time prior to Sunday afternoon’s senior day against undefeated Kent State, it did so with two edicts win for its three seniors and believing in both each other and team.

Belief has been a central theme for this team, and it showed through once again during these 90 minutes.

“We carry that word very strongly in our locker room,” senior captain Mackenzie Leeder explained. “We need to not only believe in ourselves but believe in everybody that’s a part of this team. Whether you’re on the bench, you’re on the field, coming off the bench, we need everyone to believe in this team for us to be successful. I think writing it on my arm shows how much that word means to me personally. It’s been a long road, but you’ve always got to believe in yourself and your teammates around you.”

Duquesne proved to be an opportunistic side throughout Sunday’s contest, besting the Golden Flashes by a 4-2 count.

“I thought we stumbled a little bit, and then they righted it the last 10-15 minutes of the first half,” Duquesne interim coach Dave Gray said. “They played a really good Kent State team that’s always going to show up and play really well. We had talked about being on all game. We made some adjustments and changed some things up and the girls did a really good job adapting.”

With this win, Duquesne has won all four of its contests at Rooney Field this season, doing so by outscoring opponents 19-4 over the 360 combined minutes.

The Dukes were able to get this win by bringing the game to its opponent, overcoming a slow start to breakthrough for four goals.

“Every time we step on this field, we come out and play at 100%, no matter what team it is,” junior forward Brianna Moore offered. “We want to respect enough to destroy every team that we play. Kent State is a really physical team, a really good team. I think we came out on top as a team, staying resilient across the board. Everyone did a really good job doing their part on the team today.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

Kent State’s aggression allowed it to control run of play early on, with the Golden Flashes firing a shot 31 seconds into the contest.

Duquesne’s Hailey Longwell and to an extent Margey Brown were both double teamed at times during the opening stretch and the Dukes were having difficulty establishing a steady run of attack.

In the 25th minute, Maya Matesa was substituted in and Duquesne went back to a three-forward attack, seeing that Longwell was being taken away.

Gray’s adjustment saw Moore, in more of a central formation on the pitch.

These and other adjustments saw the Dukes beginning to push the ball up with more regularity, as communication saw a considerable uptick as well.

Duquesne’s breakthrough came off Moore’s foot in the 40th minute as Kayla Leseck found her on the run. Moore was falling down but found a way to put the ball in the back of the net. Not to be outdone, Leseck’s helper was the first of her collegiate career.

Leeder referenced a discussion at halftime in which it was mentioned that Kent State goalkeeper Heidi Marshall was aggressively off of her line and taking the long ball was available, foreshadowing what was to come.

Duquesne’s ability to play back to front only created more space on the outside, which was welcomed and utilized throughout the period.

It first started with Margey Brown, a name which has become commonplace throughout this young season.

This latest effort saw her dart into the box and getting a foot on the ball before Marshall who came charging towards the ball could meet her.

Brown’s goal, her seventh of the season ties her for ninth-best mark in a single season and gives her 18 points, one away from tying Natalie Trgovic for 10th place in Duquesne single-season history.

She has scored at least one goal in each of Duquesne’s five contests this season.

“I think one of the differences between last season and this season is we’re more dynamic in the front line and Margey’s been a huge part of that,” Gray deduced. “Her ability to take players on has been dangerous. She’s drawing attention but she’s also bringing people along isolating them. Another thing she’s done much better, she’s opportunistic around goal and putting balls on net, she’s hammering balls. She’s not trying to take one extra touch; she’s getting to goal really quickly and it’s paying off for her.”

Kent State’s leading goal scorer Alisa Marshall struck in the 57th minute on a free kick, going top shelf to where it would have taken a special effort to come away with a save.

Instead of sulking, Duquesne needed all of 26 seconds to respond.

Moore utilized a miscue from Kent State’s keeper to steal the ball and score her fourth goal of the season, using her composure after the angle was cut off to finish. It is her second consecutive two-goal effort.

Arthur had another set piece convert, but 52 seconds later, Duquesne was at the ready.

It was a 79th minute strike from Matesa, good for the first of the season and 10th in her Duquesne career. Moore was credited with the assist.

Matesa saw the keeper begin to get off her line, firing a shot at the 18-yard line which hit off the left crossbar and into the back of the net.

“I thought it was great for us to respond not once but twice today,” magnified Gray. “It shows our mentality is much stronger this year. We’ve talked about getting forward as much as possible and us dictating the tempo of games and us being the aggressor. By them going out and being able to bang two balls in like that, right after giving up goals, show that they’re in a much better mindset this year.”

Gray further explained that this game was a byproduct of solid training where no day was wasted, which was needed considering what the other side brought.

“It’s tough when you do have a long time off and we try and mix training in a good way where they play enough so they don’t lose their sharpness,” he concluded. “Every day they looked sharp, they never had an off day where they looked like they weren’t ready to train or be ready for this game.”

Duquesne will play a game outside of Pittsburgh for the first time this season when it travels to Loretto, taking on Saint Francis Thursday at 4 p.m.

SENIOR DAY

Duquesne celebrated its senior day as Leeder, Ally Campanella and Maddy Neundorfer all were honored prior to the contest.

“We love these kids to death, they are such a big part of our family,” Gray impressed. “Everyone has contributed and those three are huge contributors this year, so for us to go out and win a game against a very good team to honor them it’s something very special for us.”

All three not only started, but played the full 90 minutes, which for Campanella was a career high.

“Of course, on senior day we’re here to play for our seniors and we’re thankful for everything they’ve done for our program,” said Moore. “They all are a really big asset to this team and it’s really important that we came out and got this win today. I was really happy that they all got the start (and played 90 minutes) and that was our main focus.”

While there is still plenty of season left and memories to be made, Leeder smiled thinking about just how far she has come.

Certainly, there are stats that display a small portion of what she has done on the field, but her definers have been far more than what is shown on a box score.

“For me coming as a freshman starting and then my sophomore and junior year coming off the bench, I think I really just need to look into myself and just say, ‘I’m important to this team whether I’m on the bench or starting,’” Leeder understood. “The captain band to me means more than just being a leader on the team but being a leader to myself, not letting myself get down, so building on that every year has made me the person that I am today.”

POSTGAME SOUND

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

Duquesne starters (4-1-0)– Maddy Neundorfer (GK), Jayden Sharpless, Kayla Leseck, Margey Brown, Lindsay Krafchick, Hailey Longwell, Mackenzie Leeder, Ally Campanella, Eva LaVecchia, Mackenzie Muir, Brianna Moore

Kent State starters (3-1-1)– Heidi Marshall (GK), Samantha Miller, Ava Todd, Siena Stambolich, Thea Oberhoff, Alisa Arthur, Jules Dolinski, Allison Collins, Kelsey Salopek, Ali Weibel, Alanna Raimondo

Goals– Brianna Moore DUQ (3rd 40′), Margey Brown DUQ (7th, 53′), Alisa Arthur KSU (4th, 57′), Brianna Moore DUQ (4th, 57′), Alisa Arthur KSU (5th, 78′), Maya Matesa DUQ (1st, 79′)

Cautions– Ally Campanella DUQ 29′, Mackenzie Muir DUQ 30′, Hailey Longwell DUQ 61′, Allison Collins KSU 71′, Mackenzie Leeder DUQ 82′, Duq Team 84′, Thea Oberhoff 84′

Shots– Duquesne 20 (8 on frame) Kent State 8 (7 on frame)

Corners– Duquesne 4 Kent State 3

OF NOTE

As per a university spokesperson, Dave Gray is serving as interim head coach as Al Alvine has stepped away to deal with a personal matter. The start of this season was Alvine’s 13th with the program.

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