PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University men's soccer team will make the short trek across town on Tuesday night to take on nationally ranked Pitt in the City Game.

THE BASICS 

October 17, 2023 | 7:00 PM | Ambrose Urbanic Field (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 

Duquesne Dukes (6-5-2, 3-2-1 A-10) 

• Streak: W1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

#11 Pitt (5-4-3, 2-2-2 ACC) 

• Streak: L1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

GAMEDAY COVERAGE

Watch Live on ACCNX  |  Follow Live Stats  |  Gameday Central 
 

BY THE NUMBERS 

THE DUKES 

• Duquesne started conference play 2-0-1, but they've dropped two of their last three A-10 games. 

• The Dukes' three goals in their last game against George Washington is the most they've had in a single game since their 5-1 victory against Virginia Tech on August 27th.

• Ask Ekeland leads the Dukes with eight goals, putting him second in the A-10. 

• Ekeland and Jayden Da both have 3 game-winning goals this season.  

• Three of Da's six scores have been game-winners - the second-most in the A-10 and 17th-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 51.9%, good for second in the A-10 … Ekeland is right behind in fourth at 50%. 

• Ekeland (1.31) is third and Da (1.17) is fourth in the A-10 in shots on goal per game. 

• Ekeland's 1.31 points per game ranks third 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 46.9% clip. 

• DU has assisted on 14 of its 19 goals this season … Three Dukes are tied with three assists … 12 different players have accounted for DU's 18 assists. 

• Duquesne goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy has two clean sheets this season … He ranks 7th in the nation and leads the Atlantic 10 with 64 saves … Nagy's .780 save percentage is good for second in the league. 

LAST TIME OUT 

• The Dukes ended a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over George Washington.  

• The Revolutionaries struck first and fast with a goal less than two minutes into the game.   

• The Dukes drew a penalty inside the box in the 29th minute and were able to even up the score with Cameron Territo rocketing in a score under the crossbar on the PK.  

• George Washington answered right back a minute and 33 seconds later with Louis Saville's second goal of the night, this time deflecting it off a DU defender. 

• In the 37th minute, Ekeland fielded a pass from Nate Dragisich and tied up the match yet again just before the break. 

• In the reverse fashion of the first half, Duquesne struck just two minutes back from the half. Ekeland completed a picture-perfect give-and-go with Tate Mohney for the game winner just inside the low right corner. 

THE PANTHERS 

• The Pittsburgh Panthers, members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), enter this rivalry ranked 11th in the nation.  

• Pitt lost their last time out by a 2-1 scoreline to Virginia.  

• The Panthers are a dominant 5-1-2 at home this season.  

• Keeper Cabral Carter ranks third in the ACC with 34.  

• Luis Sahmkow leads the Panthers in points with 12 (6 goals).  

• Pitt has been a second-half team this season, outscoring their opponents 13-5 in the final 45 minutes.  

• Playing a challenging schedule, Pitt is 2-2-1 against top 25 teams ... The two wins came against #19 Denver and #9 Wake Forest.  

THE SERIES 

• Duquesne is winless against Pitt in this series dating back the two's first meeting in 2007, going 0-6-1 all-time against them.  

• Last year, Duquesne dropped a 5-2 decision against Pitt.  

ROAD WARRIORS 

• Since the start of 2022, Duquesne has had a winning record in games away from home with an 8-6-3 record.   

• They posted two notable wins away from home against Power Five schools with a 1-0 win over Michigan in 2022 and a 5-1 victory over Virginia Tech.    

• This season, DU is 2-3-1 on the road with both wins coming in non-conference games. 

DUKES VS. RANKED OPPONENTS 

• Duquesne is 1-8-1 all-time against ranked teams … Its lone win was a 3-1 victory over then #23 Rhode Island on October 20, 2018. 

• Pitt has been ranked twice before in this matchup, in the spring and fall of 2021 … DU lost by scores of 1-0 in the spring and 7-0 in the fall. 

• The Dukes have lost five straight matchups with ranked opponents, most recently a 1-0 decision at #25 Akron last September when they held a #24 ranking of their own. 

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 four-way tie for sixth in matches played last time out, taking the pitch for the 75th time in the Red and Blue … A start in the match would move Dragisich to a tie for 5th all-time in starts and seeing any action would tie him for 5th in matches played  ... Noah Salsi (2003-06) is the all-time leader with 77 starts and matches played 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 75-81-24 record at DU and is 97-87-34 all-time as a head coach including two seasons at Niagara … In A-10 play Brooks is 32-38-14. 

• 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 its last regular season A-10 road trip on Saturday to Fordham. Start time is slated for 7 pm. 

FOLLOW THE DUKES 

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