PREVIEW: @DUQMSoccer at No. 17 Kentucky

Dukes take three-game win streak to Lexington for Sunday night clash with the Wildcats

PITTSBURGH - Duquesne (3-1), winner of three in a row, heads to Lexington, Ky. to face No. 17 Kentucky (3-0-1) on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+) at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex.

The Wildcats, who have surrendered one goal in four matches, are the second ranked team the Dukes are facing in their first five matches (DU lost at then-No. 3 Pitt, 7-0, on Aug. 26).

This is the second-straight road game for the Dukes, who are coming off a 2-1 win at Howard last Sunday.

The Dukes, who opened with three games in six days, bounced back from the opening loss at Pitt to defeat Robert Morris, 3-2 on a Ryan Goodhew goal in the 107th minute on Aug. 29 and Saint Francis U on a Zach Mowka score at the 95-minute mark 53 hours later.

The RMU match, which was played in temperatures that eclipsed the 100 degree mark on the field, and SFU game, contested in a driving rain courtesy of the remnants of hurricane Ida, were both played on Rooney Field

Duquesne's season goal total of nine - all of which have come in the past three matches - has nearly doubled its total (5) in seven 2021 spring matches.

The nine goals are the most in a three-game span since 2014.

Forward Maxi Hopfer earned Sept. 7 Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week honors after scoring three goals and posting an assist in last week's wins over Saint Francis U (15' & 65' assist on game-winner at 95') and at Howard (53').

Kentucky is coming off a 3-1 win at Louisville on Tuesday. Louisville's goal, which came in the fifth minute, was the first surrendered by the Wildcats this season.

THE SERIES VS. KENTUCKY

This is the second meeting between the Dukes and Wildcats.
UK, ranked No. 17 at the time, took the first meeting by a 1-0 score in Lexington on Aug. 30, 2016.
Kentucky is 32-4-2 at home since 2018, with three of the four losses and one of the two ties coming to ranked teams.
The last non-ranked team to defeat UK at home was Charlotte (2-1 in OT) on Mar. 6, 2020.
UK has outscored opponents 7-1 through four games.

VS. RANKED TEAMS

Duquesne is 1-5-1 all time vs. ranked teams, including a 7-0 loss at No. 3 Pitt on Aug. 26.
The Dukes defeated #23 Rhode Island in an Atlantic 10 matchup on Oct. 20, 2018 on Rooney Field.
Head coach Chase Brooks is 1-4 vs. ranked teams at Duquesne (3-2 home loss to #12 Oregon State on Sept. 11, 2015, a 1-0 loss at #17 Kentucky on Sept. 30, 2016, a 1-0 defeat at #4 Pitt in February and a loss at Pitt this year).
This is Duquesne's third game vs. a Power 5 school since the Kentucky game in 2016 (the others were both at Pitt in February and August of this year).

LAST GAME

Ryan Landry (4') and Maxi Hopfer (53') found the back of the net and the Dukes survived a goal in the 83rd minute to post a 2-1 win at Howard last Sunday.
DU had a 10-9 advantage in shots with each team placing six shots on net.
Duquesne keeper Domenic Nascimben finished with four saves, all of which came in the first half.

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.

THIS YEAR

Duquesne's nine goals are its most in a three-game span since 2014.
The nine goal total has nearly doubled the team's total (5) in its seven 2021 spring matches.
Maxi Hopfer, a member of the 2020 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team, leads the Dukes with seven points - all of which have come in the Dukes' past two matches (a pair of goals and assist on the game-winner vs. Saint Francis and a goal in the 53rd minute at Howard).
Hopfer leads the Dukes in points (7), goals (3), shots (15) and shots on goal (7).
Six players have accounted for the Dukes' nine goals with Hopfer (3) and Ryan Landry (2) as multiple goal scorers.
Nine players have registered at least one assist for DU.
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 and added a career high-tying nine in the 4-3 win over Saint Francis U. He also registered his first career point with a secondary assist on the game-winning goal vs. the Red Flash.
DU's 2021 captains are #1 Domenic Nascimben (GK) and #17 Ryan Landry (D/M).

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 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 (56) and career starts (50). Kendall Newman (34 games), Nate Dragisich (28 games) and Eric Zech (27 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).