Weiss: Duquesne Women’s Soccer’s Season — A Special One

Duquesne Women’s Soccer defender Eva LaVecchia recalled last season when a 6-1-0 non-conference start gave way to a Atlantic 10 slate which saw her team miss the conference championships.

It was a season which featured an early coaching change, and it was difficult to turn the page and after a home loss to Saint Joseph’s, the Duquesne sideline was quiet. Nothing needed to be said.

LaVecchia processed the emotional toll of the season and that despite there still being a game left, a definite finality and excused herself skipping postgame stretches to go against a nearby wall, head down for a good five minutes.

Again, nothing needed to be said.

In order to achieve its goals, Duquesne’s athletic administration determined a fresh start and a new voice was needed and that’s where Jessica Giegucz was hired. Now a largely upperclassmen-based roster would have to buy in were it to make this season a successful one.

Coaches across the conference placed Duquesne 10th in the preseason poll, but an undeterred Dukes side put the finishing touches on the third seed and hosting an Atlantic 10 Championship game following a 4-2 victory over La Salle Sunday afternoon at Rooney Field.

“I could cry right now,” LaVecchia emoted. “It’s amazing honestly to see how hard we work. We’re up here early and we stay here late. We’re just here to work, compete and to win.”

That work culminates in exactly what this team’s 11 seniors desired, to leave the program better than they found it.

In order to accomplish this there was no questioning, it was getting to work and unfailingly do so together.

For many, a journey may start with spring soccer, but Duquesne was in a unique position of having its season start in December, upon Giegucz’s hire.

“I think that is when we first realized this is a new chapter for Duquesne Women’s Soccer,” senior captain Mackenzie Muir explained. “We just had to believe in each other, believe in our new coaching staff. This is almost half the team’s last year, so we really want to do something special. To look back and realize how much work we’ve put in and progress we’ve made, it’s awesome.”

There were adjustments across the board in order to make it all work. Of course, a complete buy in was a crucial piece to this and the transformation to figuring it out, believing in self, imposing will and making it a consistent behavior was a journey, but never once was there any let up.

“They have to feel rewarded,” offered Giegucz. “We did a lot within the last 10 months and they’ve bought in. Change is hard and anytime there’s change, of course there’s going to be a little bit of distraction to that, but they did a very nice job buying in completely.”

Giegucz inherited a roster which returned quite a bit of production and seeing the duo of Maya Matesa and Brianna Moore, she quickly realized she was going to have to go with a two-forward system because there was no justifying putting one of them wide.

Sunday Matesa scored her 16th and 17th goals of the season and Moore 47 seconds in her eighth. Both assisted each other as well. Together they rank first and fifth in points, with Matesa setting the program record for goals.

Additionally with her assist Sunday, Kayla Leseck picked up her seventh helper which leads the conference.

As a team Duquesne has matched a program best with 12 wins with the 2015 team which won the conference championship and earlier this year was inducted in the athletics hall of fame. Its 43 total goals are a program best since joining NCAA Division I in 1995.

Part of the new look was going to a three-back defensive scheme something LaVecchia was initially concerned, but the trio has been able to excel at it, something which makes her proud.

That back three has consisted of LaVecchia, Lindsay Krafchick and Reagan Basehore but Claire Highland has been called upon and answered the challenge as well.

“She has remained very positive, taken a lot of coaching advice in training sessions this season,” observed Giegucz. “We knew she was ready and there were no question marks about it. She stayed engaged all season long and to see her be able to perform the way she is now is nice because she stepped up when our team needed it.”

Any relationship can be give and take and both sides have given a lot to each other, yet another reason why this season has been a successful one.

“I think Coach Jess is really hard on us, but in a good way because she knows we can do it,” LaVecchia explained. “I like having someone that gives us that confidence. She doesn’t give us false hope or yells at us for no reason. She has a purpose to everything she does, and I agree with her coaching style.”

For Giegucz this team has given her a lot as well.

“They’re good kids and they certainly have increased my knowledge of the game, coaching individual players, a lot of them have helped me grow into coaching some more as individuals than just a full team, so it’s been really fun,” she revealed.

It has been a season where everyone has found connection. For the seniors it was knowing each other’s movements by heart and passing their belief and energy down the entire roster.

Sunday’s game had some stress taken away because a conference championship berth was secured and Duquesne was very likely to host. Even had it not won, it still would have hosted since Rhode Island lost and Loyola Chicago tied, but this win places it on Saint Louis’s side of the bracket.

Duquesne played a complete game to wrap up its regular season, doing so within character from opening kick and dictating play.

Now all of the hard work guarantees one more game which will be Saturday afternoon against Fordham. This is what all of the returners came back for, believed in and sacrificed to obtain.

“I would not trade a single moment, a single bus trip, a single hotel room for anything,” concluded LaVecchia. “These are the best four years of my life.”

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

Duquesne starters (12-5-1/7-3-0 A-10)- Ali Hughes (GK), Anna Bundy, Jayden Sharpless, Kayla Leseck, Lindsay Krafchick, Kaitlin Killinger, Reagan Basehore, Claire Highland, Mackenzie Muir, Brianna Moore, Maya Matesa

La Salle starters (7-7-3/4-4-2)– Mackenna Yaracs (GK), Jillian Drumm, Sienna Mount, Brianna Lewis, Taylor Jourdanais, Justyce Hollenbach, Ella Frey, Nadia Guzman, Ava Tenaglia, Ella Cadigan, Jaci Gismondi

Goals–Brianna Moore DUQ 8th :47, Mackenzie Muir DUQ 6th 26′ PK, Maya Matesa DUQ 16th 28′, Kayden Williams LAS 4th 43′, Maya Matesa DUQ 17th 49′, Justyce Hollenbach LAS 60′.

Cautions– Kayla Leseck DUQ 45′

Shots– Duquesne 12 (4 on frame), Youngstown State 6 (3 on frame)

Corners– Duquesne 4 La Salle 4

VIDEOS

Zac Weiss