PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University men's soccer team will look to get back to its winning ways on Saturday night hosting George Washington at Rooney Field.

THE BASICS 
October 14, 2023 | 7:00 PM | Rooney Field (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 

George Washington (2-7-4, 0-4-1 A-10) 

• Streak: T1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule

Duquesne Dukes (5-5-2, 2-2-1 A-10) 

• Streak: L3 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

GAMEDAY COVERAGE

Watch Live on ESPN+  |  Follow Live Stats  |  Gameday Central 

BY THE NUMBERS 

THE DUKES 

• Duquesne started conference play 2-0-1, but has dropped its last two in A-10 action and its last three overall. 

• The Dukes have been held off the scoreboard each of the last two games after netting at least one goal in nine of the first 10 games. 

• Ask Ekeland and Jayden Da lead the Dukes with six goals each on the year, putting them in a tie for third-most in the A-10. 

• Three of Da's six scores have been game winners - the second-most in the A-10 and 13th-most in the NCAA … Da had a four-game scoring streak earlier this season and posted his sixth goal last conference game at Davidson, giving him a team-leading 15 points for the season. 

• Da has put over half his shots on target at 52%, an A-10 best mark … Ekeland is right behind in fifth at 46.9%. 

• Ekeland (1.25) is third and Da (1.18) is fourth in the A-10 in shots on goal per game. 

• Da's 1.36 points per game ranks second in the conference. 

• DU is 3-1-1 when Da scores, with wins against Virginia Tech, Niagara and Robert Morris. 

• The Dukes lead the A-10 in Shot accuracy at a 47% clip. 

• DU has assisted on 12 of its 16 goals this season … Da leads with four, while four Dukes are knotted at two … 12 different players have accounted for DU's 18 assists. 

• Duquesne goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy has two clean sheets this season … He ranks 5th in the nation and leads the Atlantic 10 with 60 saves … Nagy's .789 save percentage is good for second in the league. 

LAST TIME OUT 

• The Dukes fell on the road, 2-0, to St. Bonaventure in a non-conference matchup. 

• The Bonnies netted a goal in each half with one in the 36th minute to open the scoring, then an insurance strike in the 81st minute to put the match away. 

• DU held a 22-17 edge in shots and a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks but the back of the net evaded them for the second straight game. 

THE REVOLUTIONARIES 

• George Washington is still searching for its first conference win of the season, entering 0-4-1. 

• The Revolutionaries got their first conference point last time out and first goal in A-10 action with a 1-1 draw on Saturday versus St. Bonaventure. 

• GW is 0-4-2 on the road this season. 

• Keeper Tom Macauley is eighth in the conference with 31 saves and fourth averaging 3.1 per game, while posting one shutout … The Revolutionaries have two shutouts on the season as a team. 

• William Turner is the only player on the team with a goal and an assist … He leads with seven points, recording three assists and two scores. 

• Nacho Alastuey and Ben Hissrich pace the team with three goals a piece. 

THE SERIES 

• Duquesne is 13-9-1 all-time against George Washington since first meeting in 1995. 

• The Dukes have won three straight meetings against GW, including a 2-1 decision last season on the road. 

• Duquesne is 8-2 when battling GW in Pittsburgh. 

HOME SWEET HOME  

• Since the beginning of the 2020 season, the Dukes are 21-5-5 at home.   

• Duquesne went 6-1-2 last season on its home turf at Rooney Field.  

• Duquesne touts a 2-2-1 record at home this year.   

ALL-TIME LEADERBOARD 

• Maxi Hopfer is currently 7th all-time at Duquesne with 18 goals scored over his career … Simon Gomez and Steve Mellor lead Hopfer by two with 20 career goals … Damien Pottinger (2000-03) holds the top spot in the record book with 38. 

• Hopfer is also 9th in career points with 46 … Four back of 8th place held by Dave Kovalcik (1995-97, 99) … Damien Pottinger (2000-03) also has the most points all-time with 89. 

• Hopfer moved up to fourth all-time in career shots after opening weekend … His 168 shots trail third place by 21, as Simon Gomez (2010-13) has 189 … Joshua Patterson (2009-12) took 220 in his career to lead all DU players. 

• Hopfer has seven game winning goals in his career, the 6th most in DU history. Steve Mellor (2002-05) is in 5th with 8 game winners … Damien Pottinger (2000-03) and David Gingrich (1999-02) are tied for the lead with 10. 

• Hopfer saw his first game action since the season opener on September 30th, playing 26 minutes, after battling an early-season injury. 

• Nate Dragisich is currently 3rd all-time at Duquesne in career assists with 21 … Simon Gomez (2010-13) is second with 27 and Derek MacKenzie (2001-04) is the all-time leader with 28 ... Dragisich is sixth all-time in career matches started at DU with 71 and pulled into a tie for ninth in matches played last time out, taking the pitch for the 74th time in the Red and Blue ... Noah Salsi (2003-06) is the all-time leader with 77 starts as a Duke.  

PRESEASON POLL 

• Duquesne was picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic 10 this season. Forward Maxi Hopfer and midfielder Ask Ekeland were named to the A-10 Preseason All-Conference Team. 

• DU totaled 144 points in the preseason poll, just two behind fourth place, VCU. Saint Louis took 13 of the 14 first place votes and totaled 195 points to be deemed the favorite after winning the A-10 title in 2022. Loyola Chicago, who beat the Dukes in the semifinals last season, grabbed the only remaining first-place vote and was picked to finish third, while Dayton claimed the second spot. 

HOPFER NAMED NATIONAL FORWARD TO WATCH 

• Junior forward Maxi Hopfer was named a National Forward to Watch by United Soccer Coaches this preseason. Hopfer has been a two-time All-Southeast Region selection by the United Soccer Coaches and has garnered A-10 postseason honors in each of his three seasons with the Dukes (All-Rookie Team in 2020, First Team All-A-10 in 2021, and Second Team All-A-10 in 2022). 

LOOKING BACK AT 2022 

• The 2022 Dukes, who finished 11-4-4, were in contention for the regular season A-10 crown down to the final game of the season. The Dukes, who were tabbed tied for seventh in the A-10 Preseason Poll, finished alone in second with a 4-1-3 mark. 

• The 11 wins in 2022 were the most by a Duquesne team since 2006. It was the first time DU posted back-to-back 10-win seasons since 2005 & 2006. 

• Along the way, the 2022 Dukes, who got off to the first 5-0 start in program history and set a record for most games without a loss to open a season (6-0-2), became the first Duquesne team since 2005 to earn a national ranking. DU appeared in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 for three weeks, reaching a high rank of No. 24 on Sept. 27. 

ABOUT THE COACH 

• Duquesne is led by 11th year head coach Chase Brooks. 

• Brooks is second all-time in program history with 69 wins and has accounted for three of the program's five postseason wins – all in the past two years. 

• Coach Brooks holds a 74-81-24 record at DU and is 96-87-34 all-time as a head coach including two seasons at Niagara … In A-10 play Brooks is 31-38-14. 

• Brooks has led the Dukes to five Atlantic 10 Conference tournament appearances (2013, 2015, 2016, 2021, & 2022), including an A-10 Championship game appearance - the program's first since 2002 – in 2021. 

ACADEMIC HONORS 

• DU has been recognized by the United Soccer Coaches for its outstanding academic performance with a Team Academic Award (minimum 3.0 team GPA) 21 times in the past 24 years. No other Atlantic 10 men's soccer program has been recognized more than Duquesne since the award was instituted in 1996. 

UP NEXT 

• Duquesne will make the short trek across town to take on nationally ranked Pitt on Tuesday. 

FOLLOW THE DUKES 

For the latest news and updates for Duquesne men's soccer, follow @DuqMSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.