Duquesne (6-3-1, 2-0-1), alone in second place in the Atlantic 10 with a 2-0-1 record, heads to Richmond, Va. for the second of three-straight road matches when it takes on VCU (6-3-1, 2-0) on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+).

The Dukes, who earned their first point in four all-time trips to Davidson with a 1-1 2OT draw on Saturday, are off to their best A-10 start since the 2005 conference regular season co-Champions opened 4-0.

VCU, who is among those receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25, is coming off a 2-1 2OT win at La Salle on Saturday.

The Rams are 2-0 at home with wins over East Tennessee State (4-1) and Dayton (2-0).

Duquesne's three losses have come on the road to Power 5 schools including at then-No. 3 Pitt and at then-No. 17 Kentucky and at Michigan State.

VCU is 2-1-1 against ranked teams - all on the road - with wins at No. 6 Wake Forest (2-0) and No. 24 Charlotte (2-0) and a draw at No. 4 North Carolina (1-1, 2OT). The loss came by a 1-0 count at No. 19 FIU.

DU, which has scored multiple goals versus every non-Power 5 opponent except Davidson (1-1 tie), has found the back of the net 21 times in 10 games.

The Dukes ranked 24th nationally in total goals (21) and 20th in total assists (22) through Sunday's games.

Wednesday's match up will feature two of NCAA Division I's busiest goalkeepers, as Duquesne's Domenic Nascimben ranks fifth nationally in total saves (47 in 10 games), while VCU's  Mario Sequeira ranks sixth with 46 saves in seven matches.

DU follows the VCU match with a trip to Philadelphia to face Saint Joseph's on Oct. 16.

Click here for the current A-10 standings.

 
THE SERIES VS. VCU

• VCU leads the series 3-2-1, including a 1-0-1 edge in games played in Richmond, Va.
• The Dukes and Rams have split the past two meetings with DU winning 1-0 (OT) in Pittsburgh in 2016 and VCU winning at home (2-0) in 2018.
• VCU was picked to finish 5th in the Atlantic 10 preseason Coaches Poll (DU was picked tied for 10th).

LAST GAME

• Jack Emanuel's first career goal (4') was matched by Davidson in the 48th minute as the Dukes and Wildcats battled to a 1-1 2OT draw at Davidson's Alumni Stadium.
• Emanuel's goal - a header off a corner kick from Ryan Goodhew - enabled DU to leave North Carolina with its first point in four all-time trips to Davidson.
• DU had one more shot (18-17) and two more shots on goal (8-6) than the Wildcats in the tightly-contested match.
• Maxi Hopfer and Goodhew led the Dukes with six and four shots respectively.
• Domenic Nascimben had five saves for DU.

AN AMBITIOUS SCHEDULE
Two of Duquesne's three losses have come on the road to nationally-ranked teams (at then-No. 3 Pitt and at then-No. 17 Kentucky). Michigan State, which was the third Power Five road game on the schedule, handed DU its third defeat.


THIS YEAR

• DU's 21 goal total has more than quadrupled the team's output (5) in its seven 2021 spring matches.
• Maxi Hopfer, a member of the 2020 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team, leads the Dukes with 18 points including braces against Saint Francis U, Canisius and La Salle.
• Hopfer, who leads the Dukes in points (18), goals (7), shots (37) and shots on goal (17), ranks T9th nationally in points per game (1.8) and T18th in goals per game (0.70).
• Seven players have accounted for the Dukes' 21 goals with Hopfer (7), Ryan Goodhew (3), Zach Mowka (3), Nate Dragisich (3), Ryan Landry (2) and Logan Muck (2) all multiple goal scorers.
• Eleven players have registered at least one assist for DU.
• Junior Domenic Nascimben has played every minute in net for the Dukes. His 47 saves in 10 games rank 5th nationally through Sunday. His 4.70 saves per game is the second-best average in the A-10 and ranks 21st nationally.
• Nascimben has a pair of shutouts on the young season (4-0 over Canisius& 3-0 over La Salle). He also registered his first career point with a secondary assist on the game-winning goal vs. Saint Francis U. He was named A-10 Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 20 (following the shutout win over Canisius and 3-1 victory over GW).
• DU's 2021 captains are #1 Domenic Nascimben (GK) and #17 Ryan Landry (D/M).

MAXI HOPFER ON NCAA LISTS
thru Sunday

CATEGORY	TOTAL	RANK
Total Points	18	T8th
Total Goals	7	T7th
Points/g.	1.80	T9th

PROGRAM NOTES

• Duquesne is in its ninth season under head coach Chase Brooks. Brooks has led the Dukes to three Atlantic 10 Conference tournament appearances (2013, 2015 & 2016).
• The Dukes return 10 of 11 starters from the 2021 spring roster.
• A total of 15 players made their Duquesne debut in the spring.
• DU returns just six players from its 2019 roster.
• Fifth-year defender/midfielder Ryan Landry leads all returnees in career games played (62) and career starts (56). Kendall Newman (34 games), Nate Dragisich (34 games) and Eric Zech (32 games) are the only other field players who entered the season with more than seven games of experience in a Duquesne uniform.
• The Dukes have eight transfers in junior M/F Ade Akinjogbin (Wofford), sophomore M Rodrigo Albayeros (Florida Atlantic), sophomore D Jacob Benintendi (Xavier), junior D Jaime Borjas (Graceland U.), sophomore M Harper Cook (American), freshman F Jayden Da (Washington & Jefferson), junior M Logan Muck (Evansville) and sophomore D Torge Witteborg (Ottawa University-Arizona). Cook and Da joined the team this summer, the other six participated in the spring season.
• Duquesne has produced the 14th-most Men's Soccer Academic All-Americas (11) over the past 20 years.
• DU has been recognized by the United Soccer Coaches for its outstanding academic performance with a Team Academic Award (minimum 3.0 team GPA) 19 times in the past 22 years. No other Atlantic 10 men's soccer program has been recognized more than Duquesne since the award was instituted in 1996.
• Duquesne produced at least one Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team member in seven of the past eight years including current roster members Ryan Landry (2016), Nate Dragisich (2019) and Maxi Hopfer (2020).

CAREER LEADERS
Goals
Maxi Hopfer (9), Nate Dragisich (6), Ryan Landry (4), Ryan Goodhew (3), Zach Mowka (3), Logan Muck (3), Jack Emanuel (1), Eric Zech (1)
Assists
Ryan Landry (10), Nate Dragisich (9), Maxi Hopfer (4), Zach Mowka (3), Ryan Goodhew (2), Logan Muck (2), Ade Akinjogbin (1), Jaime Borjas (1), Jayden Da (1), Jack Emanuel (1), Domenic Nascimben (1), Tom Tzabari (1), Eric Zech (1)
Points
Nate Dragisich (21), Maxi Hopfer (22), Ryan Landry (18), Zach Mowka (9), Ryan Goodhew (8), Logan Muck (8), Jack Emanuel (3), Eric Zech (3), Ade Akinjogbin (1), Jaime Borjas (1), Jayden Da (1), Domenic Nascimben (1), Tom Tzabari (1)
Games
Ryan Landry (62), Nate Dragisich (34), Kendall Newman (34), Eric Zech (32), Domenic Nascimben (23)
Starts
Ryan Landry (56), Nate Dragisich (33), Eric Zech (31), Kendall Newman (30), Domenic Nascimben (22)

Logan Muck (52/25) played in 36 games with 21 starts at Evansville
Ade Akinjogbin (33/23) played in 20 games with 14 starts at Wofford
Rodrigo Albayeros (23/6) played in seven games at Florida Atlantic
Harper Cook (22/8)played in 12 games with two starts at American

2021 ATLANTIC 10 AWARD WINNERS
Sept. 7 - Maxi Hopfer - Offensive Player of the Week
Sept. 20 - Domenic Nascimben - Defensive Player of the Week