Duquesne (2-5-1) opens Atlantic 10 play against the surprise team of the conference in Saint Joseph's (6-3-0) at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29. SJU, picked to finish 12th in the A-10 preseason poll, has already doubled its win total from a year ago (3-11-4). This is the first of eight conference matches for the Dukes.

THE SERIES VS. SAINT JOSEPH'S

• Duquesne leads the overall series 13-6, including a 5-3 advantage in matches in Pittsburgh.
• DU has won the past seven meetings between the two. The seven-match streak is Duquesne's longest against any A-10 school since the inception of the Dukes' program in 1995.
• Duquesne has won 11 of the past 12 meetings overall.
• SJU's last series win came on Oct. 22, 2006 in Philadelphia (1-0). The Hawks last win in Pittsburgh was on Oct. 7, 2001 (1-0) (a span of four matches).
• Saint Joe's, who has been idle since Saturday, has outscored its past two opponents 7-0 (5-0 vs. VMI and 2-0 at Fairfield).
• The Hawks have posted shutouts in three of their past four matches.
• Duquesne is 2-2-1 at home and Saint Joseph's is 2-3 on the road this season.

QUICK HITS

• Duquesne ranked first nationally in corner kicks per game through Wednesday (currently at 8.25, 66 in eight games). DU had 16 corners - one shy of the school record - in its 3-0 win over Detroit Mercy on Sept. 2. The Dukes have had nine or more corners in a game four times.
• The Dukes are coming off a 6-2 defeat at ARV Wright State (7-0-1) on Tuesday. Ian Larson (75') and Gylfi Stefansson (85') netted their first goals of the season for DU. WSU, which is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, is ranked 15th nationally by Top Drawer Soccer.
• Duquesne has started at least six freshmen in all eight matches this season (DU has started seven freshmen five times). Manel Busquets (Spain), Nathan Dossantos (Canada), Rob Dymond (New Zealand), Moritz Kappelsberger (Germany), Domenic Nascimben (Australia), Kendall Newman, Gylfi Stefansson (Iceland) and Eric Zech (Germany) have all started at least once. Of the eight freshmen who have started, seven are international players.
• Overall, DU has 10 international players, including returners seniors Noah Mehta (Canada) and Olav Hovstad (Norway).
• The Dukes have 15 first-year players on the 2018 roster including 14 freshmen and junior Pitt transfer M Alec Anselmo. Anselmo played in 30 matches with 16 starts in two seasons with the Panthers. Anselmo made his first career start as a Duke at Wright State.
• Dymond leads the Dukes in goals (3) and fellow freshman Busquets is tied with Mehta for the team lead in assists (3). Dymond, Busquets and Mehta lead the team with seven points each.
• Mehta, who entered this season with two career points, has six in his past four games.
• Dymond had a pair of goals and Mehta added a goal and two assists in the 4-1 win over Robert Morris on Sept. 19. DU's four goals were its most since a 5-0 win over Bloomsburg on August 27 of last season.
• DU's 11 goals this season have come from seven players: Rob Dymond (3), Manel Busquets (2), Noah Mehta (2), Zion Beaton (1), Zach Hall (1), Gylfi Stefansson (1) and Ian Larson (1).
• Junior Zach Hall (15 points, 6 goals) and senior Ian Larson (13 points, 5 goals) are DU's top current career point-getters and goal scorers.
• Dymond and Hall lead the team in shots with 19 and 16 respectively. Dymond has sent the most shots on goal with eight.
• Mehta leads the team in career games with 53. Larson is second with 47.

UP NEXT

• 10/2 vs. Cleveland State (final nonconference game)
• 10/6 at VCU
• 10/10 vs. Fordham