PREVIEW: A-10 Championship Semifinal vs. Loyola Chicago

Dukes and Ramblers meet for second time this season on Wednesday night

2022 ATLANTIC 10 MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP - SEMIFINAL

No. 4 LOYOLA CHICAGO (8-2-6, 3-2-3) at No. 2 DUQUESNE (11-3-4, 4-1-3)
November 9, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. • Rooney Field (artificial) • Pittsburgh, Pa.

WEDNESDAY'S MATCH IS A TICKETED EVENT
ADVANCE TICKETS AT $5 EACH MAY BE PURCHASED HERE OR AT ROONEY FIELD BEGINNING AT 6PM
** DUQUESNE STUDENTS WILL BE ADMITTED FREE WITH A VALID DU ID **

• Second-seeded Duquesne, which reached the Atlantic 10 Championship title game last year, advanced to the 2022 semifinal with a 2-1 win over No. 7 seed La Salle on Rooney Field Saturday night. Zach Mowka recorded a second-half brace (70' & 83') to help the Dukes erase a 1-0 deficit.

• This is DU's eighth A-10 Championship semifinal appearance. It is the first time since 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 (four in a row) that Duquesne has made back-to-back semifinal appearances.

• The 2002 Dukes have the opportunity to become the first team in program history to make back-to-back final game appearances.

• This is Duquesne's fifth A-10 Championship appearance in 10 seasons under head coach Chase Brooks (2013, 2015, 2016, 2021 & 2022). It is the 12th appearance in program history. The Dukes are 5-9-3 all-time at the A-10 Championship including runner-up finishes in 1999, 2002 & 2022. With Saturday's victory, Brooks has now accounted for three of the five postseason wins - all in the past two years.

• Duquesne, which was picked to finish tied for seventh in the A-10 preseason poll, ended up alone in second place with 15 points (4-1-3). A 1-0 defeat at La Salle in the regular-season finale prevented the Dukes from posting the first undefeated conference season in school history.

• Saturday's game vs. La Salle marked the first time in program history that the Dukes hosted an A-10 Championship game. DU is undefeated in a school record 16-straight home games (13-0-3, 6-0-2 this year). The streak broke the school mark of 14 set in 2002 & 2003. Duquesne's last home loss occurred during the pandemic-related spring season on Mar. 27, 2021 (2-0 to St. Bonaventure).

• Last year, the 6th-seeded Dukes made history by winning multiple games at the A-10 Championship for the first time (2-1 at #3 Saint Joseph's and 2-1 vs. #2 Rhode Island in St. Louis) in advancing to the title game for the first time since 2002. The win at SJU was the program's first in A-10 Championship play since 2002 (a 2-1 semifinal W over host Richmond). DU had gone 10 postseason matches without a win (0-7-3). The last time DU advanced was in 2006, following a 0-0 first round draw with Charlotte at Charlotte, N.C. (5-4 on PK).

• Duquesne's 11 wins are its most since 2006 (11-7-2). Duquesne (10-7-2 last year) has posted back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time since 2005 & 2006. The school record for wins is 13, accomplished five times (2005 last).

THE SERIES VS. LOYOLA

This is just the third meeting between the two schools.
Duquesne leads the series 1-0-1, including a 2-1 win in Pittsburgh on Sept. 17. Tom Tzabari's goal in the 58th minute was the difference in that game which was the Atlantic 10 opener for both schools. It was also the first Atlantic 10 event for first-year conference member Loyola. Christoffer Vie Angell scored in the third minute for the Dukes in that game.
Loyola, picked to finish 5th in the Atlantic 10 preseason Coaches Poll, ended up tied for fourth with Dayton.
Loyola is 1-2-3 on the road, with the win coming at Fordham on Oct. 29 (3-2). The Ramblers tied Northwestern (0-0), UIC (0-0) and VCU (2-2) on the road.

SEASON NOTES

Duquesne entered the Untied Soccer Coaches Top 25 for the first time since November of 2005 on Sept. 20. The Dukes have been ranked for three total weeks this season: No. 25 (tie) Sept. 20, No. 24 on Sept 27 and No. 25 on Oct. 11.
DU's losses have come at then-No. 25 Akron (0-1) on Sept. 28, at Pitt (2-5) and at La Salle (0-1). The game at Akron marked the first time in program history that the Dukes faced a ranked team while ranked (the Dukes were No. 24 at the time).
DU got off to the first 5-0 start in program history.
Duquesne set a new school record for most games without a loss (eight at 6-0-2) to open a season. The previous mark was seven by two teams.
Duquesne opened with three consecutive road games (all wins) for the first time in program history.
Duquesne's three-straight road wins to start the season were one shy of the school record for consecutive road victories (accomplished three times).
DU's five road wins (5-3-2) are the program's most since 2004 (5-3-1). DU was 2-7-1 on the road last season.
Duquesne's season-opening 1-0 win at Michigan was the program's first victory over a Power 5 team since 2003.
DU's seven goals in the 7-0 win over Howard tied the third-highest single-game goal total in program history. The seven scores were the most since a school record 10 in a 10-0 win over Fordham in 2002.
Duquesne, which has surrendered 16 goals, has posted seven shutouts. The 16 goals allowed are the third-fewest in program history.
DU has 16 newcomers - including 10 freshmen - on the 2021 roster.
Incoming transfers include: D Anthony Harding (Pitt), Tate Mohney (Elizabethtown), Jesper Moksnes (Virginia), Cameron Territo (Western Illinois) and Christoffer Vie Angell (UAB). All five have played significant roles in their first season at Duquesne.
Duquesne's 32 goals have come from 11 players. Freshman Ask Ekeland leads the team with eight scores, including a brace vs. St. Bonaventure on Oct. 12. The eight goals are tied for third-most by a freshman nationally (through Sunday). The goal total is also tied for second-most ever by a Duquesne freshman and also rank third in the A-10 this year.
Ekeland was ranked 20th on Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason List of Top Freshmen published on Oct. 19.
Maxi Hopfer, a United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-Southeast Region and First Team All-Atlantic 10 performer in 2021, leads the Dukes with 18 career goals (five this season). The Styria, Austria native, who made the A-10 All-Rookie team as a freshman, led the Dukes in points (28) and goals (11) last season.
Fourth-year junior M/F Nate Dragisich, who earned Second Team All-A-10 honors as well as a spot on the A-10 All-Championship Team in 2021, leads all returnees in career games played (61) and started (60). Dragisich has posted a point in seven of 18 games, including a streak of five in a row snapped at UMass on Sept. 24. His seven assists rank tied for second in the Atlantic 10. Dragisich's 19 career assists rank third on DU's all-time list.
Graduate student Domenic Nascimben has played every minute in net for the Dukes for the past two-plus seasons (includes the abbreviated 2021 spring campaign). Nascimben, a native of Sydney, Australia, has posted seven shutouts this season. He turned away a career-high 11 shots - including penalty kicks in the 82nd and 87th minute - in the 7-0 win over Howard.
Through Sunday's games, Nascimben ranked tied for 14th nationally in shutouts (7) and tied for 6th in save percentage (.833). His save percentage ranks third on DU's single-season list.
DU has been recognized by the United Soccer Coaches for its outstanding academic performance with a Team Academic Award (minimum 3.0 team GPA) 20 times in the past 23 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 eight of the past nine years including current roster members Nate Dragisich (2019), Maxi Hopfer (2020) & Jack Emanuel (2021).
Duquesne's captains for 2022 are M Nate Dragisich, F Maxi Hopfer, GK Domenic Nascimben and D Torge Witteborg.