PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University men's soccer team wraps up its three-game conference roadtrip with a midweek match at Davidson on Wednesday night.

THE BASICS 

October 4, 2023 | 7:00 PM | Alumni Soccer Stadium (Davidson, NC) 

Davidson Wildcats (6-2-1, 2-1-0 A10) 

• Streak: L1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule

Duquesne Dukes (5-2-2, 2-0-1 A-10) 

• Streak: W1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

 
GAMEDAY COVERAGE
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BY THE NUMBERS 

THE DUKES 

• Duquesne dropped its season opener at James Madison and has bounced back strong entering this conference matchup picking up at least a point in seven of their next eight including three road wins against Virginia Tech, Niagara and St. Joseph's.  

• Duquesne rolled to a 2-1 victory over St. Joseph's in their last match. Ask Ekeland had a brace in the win.  

• Duquesne hung on for a 1-0 win in their first conference match of 2023 against UMass. They got on the board early with an 11th minute goal from Ask Ekeland.  

• Their second conference match ended in a 1-1 draw. Nate Dragisisch scored the only goal for Duquesne off the feed from Tate Mohney.  

• Duquesne has outscored their conference foes 4-2 in the first three conference matches.  

• Ask Ekeland leads the Dukes with six goals on the year, ranking 34th in the nation and 3rd in the A-10.  

• Ekeland averages .67 goals per game, which is second-best in the A-10.  

• Jayden Da has five goals, which averages out to .56 per game – the fourth-best mark in the A-10 and 47th-best in Division I … Three of the five scores have been game winners - the most in the A-10 and sixth-most in the NCAA … He also recorded his second assist against UMass to give himself 12 points, which puts him in third in the A-10.  

• DU is 3-0-1 when Da scores, with wins against Virginia Tech, Niagara and Robert Morris. 

• Duquesne is second in the A-10 and ranks 15th nationally in saves per game with 4.89.  

• The Dukes lead the A-10 in Shot accuracy at a 54% clip, which is 5th best in the nation.  

• DU is sixth in the A-10 and 45th in the nation in assists with 17 … The Dukes have had nine assists over the past seven goals (six games). 

• Duquesne goalkeeper Zolton Nagy has two clean sheets this season. He ranks 12th in the nation and second in the Atlantic 10 with 44 saves.  

• Ekeland ranks second in the conference in shot accuracy at a 54.2% rate.  

• Ekeland (1.44) is second and Da (1.22) is sixth in the A-10 in shots on goal per game. 

• 12 players have accounted for the Dukes' 17 assists this season … Da leads the team with three.  

LAST TIME OUT 

• Midfielder Ask Ekeland got things going early for the Dukes with two first half goals in a span of four minutes, which gave Duquesne (5-2-2 / 2-0-1 A-10) all it would need in picking up a key road win at Saint Joseph's (3-7-1 / 1-0-2 A-10). 

• The opening score came when Anthony DiFalco completed a pass from midfield to Ekeland, who took a few strides forward before ripping a shot off an SJU defender and into the back of the net from beyond the box at 12:35. 

• Following the opening marker, the Dukes capitalized again when Sam Bennett lobbed the ball into the left side of the box, where Jayden Da provided a header to Ekeland, who stuck his leg out to put it past Lars Haavie at 16:32 for his second goal of the game. 

• Leading, 2-0, heading into the second half, the Hawks got one back nine minutes after the break. James Fletcher took a touch off a pass from Truls Braendvang and made no mistake, finishing past Zoltan Nagy to cut the Duquesne lead to 2-1. 

• However, the Hawks could not find the equalizer despite multiple chances in the final minutes and a stout defensive effort from the Dukes.  

THE WILDCATS

• Davidson has had a fast start to 2023, holding a 6-2-1 record.  

• The Wildcats come off a 6-8-3 season a year ago, where they did not make the A-10 Tournament. Their last appearance in the tournament was in 2021, where they lost to Rhode Island 3-1 in the first round.  

• Davidson holds a 3-1 record at home this year, with their only loss stemming from a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Charlotte. 

• Davidson is 2-1-0 in conference action, with their only loss coming last Saturday against Fordham.  

• Davidson was picked to finish in a tie with St. Joe's for 9th in the A-10 Preseason Poll.  

• Lou Liedtka leads all A-10 goalies in shutouts with five.  

• Vincent Bennage leads the Wildcats with five goals and 13 points.  

THE SERIES 

• Duquesne and Davidson have met seven times in a series that began in 2014. 

• In their most recent match on October 15th, 2022, the Dukes came out on top to beat the Wildcats 2-1.  

• Davidson owns a 4-2-1 record against the Dukes, and prior to last year's match, they hadn't lost to their Pittsburgh foes since 2015 (four matches – one tie in 2021). 

• Duquesne is winless against Davidson in North Carolina with an 0-3-1 record … A 1-1 draw in 2021 was the most recent matchup in NC and was the first time DU secured a point on the road in this series. 

ROAD WARRIORS 

• Since the start of 2022, Duquesne has had a winning record in games away from home at 8-4-3.  

• 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.  

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 Saturday playing 26 minutes, after battling an early-season injury. 

• Nate Dragisich is currently 3rd all-time at Duquesne in career assists with 20 … Simon Gomez (2010-13) is second with 27 and Derek MacKenzie (2001-04) is the all-time leader with 28 ... Dragisich has moved into a tie for eighth all-time in career matches started at DU with 68 ... 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 74-78-24 record at DU and is 96-84-34 all-time as a head coach including two seasons at Niagara … In A-10 play Brooks is 31-36-14. 

• 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 return home for the first time since September 19th when they welcome George Mason to Rooney Field this Saturday for a 7:00 P.M. kickoff.  

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