PREVIEW: @DUQMSoccer vs. Saint Francis U

Dukes back on the pitch Tuesday night

Duquesne (1-1) plays its second game in 53 hours when it hosts a well-rested Saint Francis U eleven at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 31 on Rooney Field (ESPN+).

The Dukes, who came back from a 2-1 first-half deficit to defeat Robert Morris, 3-2, on Ryan Goodhew's golden goal in the 107th minute on Sunday afternoon, are playing their third game in six days, while SFU had its August 26 season opener vs. St. Bonaventure postponed after 36 minutes due to lightning in the Loretto, Pa. area.

Duquesne and Robert Morris also endured a one hour and 10 minute weather delay on Sunday afternoon between the end of regulation and start of overtime play.

This is the second of eight home games (four non-conference and four Atlantic 10) for Duquesne, which is in its 27th season as a program.

Duquesne will be idle until Sunday, Sept. 5 (at Howard) following Tuesday night's game.

THE SERIES VS. SAINT FRANCIS U

Saint Francis U leads the series 8-7-3, with Duquesne holding a slim 4-3-2 advantage in games on Rooney Field.
SFU has won four of the past five meetings, including the last three in a row. All but one of the past five games have been decided by one goal.
DU's last series win was on Aug. 26, 2016 at home (2-1 in overtime).
Duquesne head coach Chase Brooks is 3-4-0 vs. Saint Francis U at DU.
This is the first meeting between the two since a 2-1 SFU win in Loretto on Sept. 24, 2019.

LAST GAME

Ryan Goodhew scored his first career goal in the 107th minute to give the Dukes a dramatic 3-2 2OT win over Robert Morris on Sunday afternoon.
Ryan Landry added a goal (10') and assisted on Logan Muck's game-tying goal at the 34' mark.
Nate Dragisich assisted on Goodhew's game-winner.
DU outshot RMU 23-10, including 12-3 on goal.
Maxi Hopfer (6) and Zach Mowka (4) accounted for nearly half of DU's shot attempts. Hopfer had a game-high three shots on net.
The game was played in temperatures reaching 90 degrees, with temps on the artificial surface exceeding 100 degrees.
There was a 1:10 delay between the end of regulation and start of overtime play due to lightning in the area.
DU is now 10-0-1 in its past 11 home matches vs. RMU.

AN AMBITIOUS SCHEDULE
Duquesne is facing four teams who were either ranked (#3 Pitt & #14 Kentucky) or among those also receiving votes (Dayton & UMass) in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25.

QUICK HITS

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 including M/F Ade Akinjogbin, M Rodrigo Albayeros, D Jacob Benintendi, M/F Nate Dragisich, F Maxi Hopfer, D/M Ryan Landry, D Kendall Newman, D Eric Zech and GK Domenic Nascimben. In addition, D Jaime Borjas started all four games he played in the spring.
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 (54) and career starts (48). Kendall Newman (34 games), Eric Zech (27 games) and Nate Dragisich (26 games) are the only other field players who entered the season with more than seven games of experience in a Duquesne uniform.
Dragisich, a member of the 2019 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team, is tied with Landry for the team lead with three career goals. Maxi Hopfer, who earned a spot on the 2020 A-10 All-Rookie Team in the spring, and Logan Muck are the only other Dukes with multiple goals (two each). Zech is the only other DU player with a goal.
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.
Junior Domenic Nascimben played every minute in net in the spring for the Dukes. Nascimben, a native of Sydney, Australia, stopped 34 shots in seven games. His 4.86 saves per game ranked 11th nationally. Nascimben had six saves in the opener at No. 3 Pitt.
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).
DU's 2021 captains are #1 Domenic Nascimben (GK) and #17 Ryan Landry (D/M).