PREVIEW: Women’s Soccer at Saint Joseph’s

PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne women’s soccer team (3-4-1, 1-1-0 A-10) will look to build off of the momentum of its historic win when it visits Saint Joseph’s (1-7-2, 1-1-0 A-10) on Sunday, Sept. 26. The match is slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff and will broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN

• All-Time Series: Saint Joseph’s leads, 12-3-4
• First Meeting: Oct. 26, 1997 at Saint Joseph’s – SJU won, 1-0
• Last Meeting: Oct. 13, 2019 at Saint Joseph’s – SJU won, 1-0 (2OT) I Recap | Box Score
• Streak: Saint Joseph’s, +4

QUICK HITS

• The Dukes have never defeated Saint Joseph’s during Head Coach Al Alvine‘s tenure.
• Duquesne is 0-6-2 against the Hawks in the past eight meetings. The last time the Dukes defeated Saint Joe’s was a 2-0 win in Philadelphia on Oct. 21, 2007.
• Duquesne is coming off its biggest win of the season. The Dukes stunned A-10 preseason-favorite Saint Louis 3-1 on Rooney Field Thursday night (Box Score).
• The win snapped the Billikens’ 29-match unbeaten streak in Atlantic 10 play and a string of 64-straight matches of allowing two or fewer goals.
• The Dukes also ended their own five-match losing streak against Saint Louis. Duquesne was shutout in each of those five meetings.
• Goalkeeper Megan Virgin made eight saves, including multiple diving stops, to help the Dukes secure the win.
• Emma Bundy scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season and added an assist on the game-winning goal against Saint Louis.
• She is tied for the A-10 goal scoring lead and leads the league with 12 points.
• Bundy has scored a goal in each of the team’s five home games this season at Rooney Field.
• Hannah Nguyen scored for the first time since Oct. 24, 2019 in the win over the Billikens.
• She is tied for the league-lead in total assists with three and also shares the A-10 lead with 0.38 assists per game. Her last assist came in the team’s 2-1 win over Youngstown State on Sept. 5.
• Duquesne has already scored more goals through eight games this season (12) as they did during the entire nine-game spring season. DU currently is tied for the A-10 lead with 1.50 goals per game. Saint Joseph’s enters the match last in the A-10 with 0.44 goals per game.
• Duquesne is one of five A-10 teams without a clean sheet this season.
• DU leads the A-10 and ranks 26^th nationally with a shot accuracy of 56 percent.
• The Dukes were picked to finish 10^th in the annual Atlantic 10 women’s soccer preseason poll announced last month.

DUQUESNE HEAD COACH AL ALVINE (Robert Morris ’92)

• Al Alvine is in his 10^th season as the head coach of the Dukes in 2021.
• The Dukes’ all-time winningest coach boasts a record of 69-78-21 on the Bluff and 34-42-9 in Atlantic 10 play.
• Alvine inherited a three-win team prior to the 2012 season and quadrupled that total in four years.
• He set a program record with 12 victories in 2015 – which included the program’s first-ever A-10 Championship and NCAA Tournament bid.
• His teams have totaled 11 or more wins three times during his tenure.
• Alvine has coached four First-Team and three Second-Team All-Atlantic 10 picks, including 2017 A-10 Midfielder of the Year Linnea Faccenda.
• He was named the fifth head coach in Duquesne women’s soccer history on December 29, 2011.
• Alvine came to the Bluff after spending five seasons as head coach at California University of Pennsylvania, where he went 73-28-11 – including a 38-2-6 mark over his final two seasons with the Vulcans. 

SCOUTING THE HAWKS (ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS)

• Saint Joseph’s comes into the match fresh off of its first win of the season. The Hawks went on the road and earned a 2-0 win over Davidson Thursday night (Box Score).
• After a scoreless first half, the Hawks scored two goals in a six minute span to earn the victory.
• Natalie Nevins broke through in the 52^nd-minute, while Aleksa Peev added an insurance marker in the 58^th minute.
• The match was the first multi-goal game for the Hawks this season.
• Goalkeeper Katie Cappelletti made a trio of saves to earn her third clean sheet of the season.
• She is tied for the A-10 lead in shutouts and ranks third with 4.89 saves per game.
• Cappelletti also turned in clean sheets in two-overtime ties against Fairleigh Dickinson and Maryland.
• The Hawks were picked to finish eighth in the A-10 Preseason Poll that was released ahead of the 2021 season.

SAINT JOSEPH’S HEAD COACH JESS MANNELLA (Delaware, ’97)

• Jess Mannella is in her 21^st season as the Hawks’ head coach. She owns a career record of 176-188-44
• Mannella has led Saint Joe’s to 10 postseason appearances and the 2016 A-10 regular season title. She was later named the 2016 A-10 Coach of the Year.
• Prior to coming to Saint Joseph’s in August of 2001, she spent one year as head coach at West Chester University, where the Golden Rams compiled a record of 10-9-1.