PITTSBURGH - The fifth-seeded Duquesne University men's soccer team is riding a two-game win streak into the postseason and will take on the fourth-seeded Davidson Wildcats on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament.

THE BASICS 
November 3, 2023 | 7:00 PM | Alumni Soccer Stadium (Davidson, NC) 

No. 5 Duquesne Dukes (8-6-3, 4-2-2 A-10) 

• Streak: W2 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

No. 4 Davidson Wildcats (9-4-1, 5-3-0 A-10) 

• Streak: L2 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

GAMEDAY LINKS
Watch Live on ESPN+  |  Follow Live Stats  |  Gameday Central  |  A-10 Championship Central

BY THE NUMBERS 

THE DUKES 

• The Dukes enter the A-10 Championship tournament as the five seed and are on a two-game win streak after a 3-2 victory over Wright State in the non-conference finale on Wednesday and a 2-1 triumph over La Salle on Saturday. 

• Duquesne is competing in its third straight A-10 tournament … In 2021, DU finished runner-up, then lost in the semifinals last season. 

• Ask Ekeland won A-10 Offensive Player of The Week honors last week thanks to 3 goals and 2 assists in the two wins for the Dukes. 

• Ekeland led the Dukes with 11 goals in the regular season, putting him in a tie for fourth for most goals in a single season in program history.  

• DU is a perfect 6-0-0 when Ekeland scores. 

• Ekeland is tied for the conference lead and is fifth in the NCAA with five game-winning goals this season … His 11 goals put him squarely in second place in the A-10 and top-15 in all of Division I … Ekeland has scored in back-to-back games for the first time this year entering the postseason. 

• Jayden Da scored his 7th goal of the season two weeks ago against Fordham and ranks fourth in the A-10 … Three of his goals were game-winners, the third-most in the conference. 

• Da has put over half his shots on target at 56.2%, leading all A-10 players and ranking 22nd in the NCAA … Ekeland is right behind in sixth in the A-10 at 45.7%. 

• Ekeland is third in the A-10 in shots on goal per game (1.24) ... Da is right behind him in fourth (1.20).  

• Ekeland's 25 points (1.47 per game) ranks second in the conference. 

• The Dukes lead the A-10 in shot accuracy at a 46.4% clip. 

• DU has assisted on 18 of its 25 goals this season with nine secondary assists … Dragisich leads the Dukes in assists with five … Ekeland, Da, and Tate Mohney all have charted three assists … 13 different players have accounted for DU's 27 assists.  

• Duquesne goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy has two clean sheets this season … He ranks 5th in the nation and leads the Atlantic 10 with 82 saves … Nagy's .774 save percentage is good for second in the conference.  

LAST TIME OUT 

• Ask Ekeland scored two goals for a dramatic 2-1 regular-season finale win over La Salle.  

• Ekeland helped celebrate Senior Day in style, scoring the first of his two goals on a free kick. From over 30 yards out, he bent the ball past Filip Sabatti in spectacular fashion in the left pocket of the goal to help Duquesne tie the game, 1-1, at 18:35. 

• Knotted coming out the break, Ekeland played hero late, as he took a pass in stride on the left wing from Nate Dragisich and buried it past Sabatti once again at 84:15 to push the Dukes in front.  

• La Salle outshot Duquesne, 18-11, in shots and had a slim 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Nagy finished with four saves for the Dukes. Ekeland and DiFalco led Duquesne with two shots on goal apiece.  

THE WILDCATS 

• The Davidson Wildcats finished off their season by grabbing the fourth seed in the A-10 tournament.  

• They went 5-3-0 in A-10 play this season, one of their wins came against Duquesne (2-1) at home on Oct. 4th.  

• A bright spot of their season came in the first 90 minutes of the season when they drew Wake Forest (2-2), who was ranked No. 18 at the time. Wake Forest is now ranked third in the country.  

• The Wildcats limp into the postseason on a two-game skid featuring losses at UMass (1-3) and versus Rhode Island (0-2).  

• Davidson is led by Vincent Bennage, who has 17 points on the year (six goals and five assists).  

• Denis Krioutchenkov leads the Wildcats in goals with seven, the fourth-most in the conference.  

• Lou Liedtka leads the A-10 in clean sheets with seven while also stopping 42 shots along the way … Davidson's 0.86 goals against average is the best in the A-10. 

• The Wildcats' +10 goal differential is good for third in the conference. 

THE SERIES 

• Duquesne is 2-5-1 since their first meeting against Davidson on Halloween of 2014 ... The Dukes are 0-4-1 when the matchup is played at Davidson.

• Earlier this season, Davidson pulled off a wire-to-wire 2-1 win on its home field on October 4.  

• Duquesne won the lone meeting last year 2-1 on the back of a brace from Maxi Hopfer.  

• Duquesne and Davidson have never met in the A-10 tournament. 

ROAD WARRIORS 

• Since the start of 2022, Duquesne has had a winning record in games away from home with an 8-7-4 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 this season over Virginia Tech.    

• This season, DU is 3-4-2 away from home, with two of those three wins being in non-conference affairs.  

DUKES IN THE A-10 TOURNEY 

• The Dukes have made an appearance in the A-10 tournament in now three straight seasons. 

• Duquesne has won at least one game in the past two years in the tournament.  

• Last year, they topped La Salle at home 2-1 before bowing out 1-0 to Loyola Chicago four days later.  

• In 2021, they made it all the way to the championship thanks to wins against St. Joseph's and Rhode Island. St. Louis edged out a 2-1 win over the Dukes in the championship game to take the A-10 crown.  

• The Dukes are 5-10-3 all-time in A-10 playoff matches, including a 3-5 mark under Coach Brooks … DU has never won an A-10 tournament title and has been runner-up three times (1999, 2002, and 2021) 

• It is the first time in 12 previous A-10 tournament appearances that the Dukes enter as the five seed. 

ALL-TIME LEADERBOARD 

• With his appearance in last Wednesday's game against Wright State, Nate Dragisich became the all-time leader for the Dukes in games played (he has 79 now and can make it 80 with an appearance in Friday's contest).  

• Ask Ekeland, a sophomore, scored his 19th career goal as a Duke last time out to move into seventh all-time at DU … Maxi Hopfer is currently right behind in eighth with 18 goals scored over his career … Simon Gomez and Steve Mellor are tied for fifth with 20 career goals … Damien Pottinger (2000-03) holds the top spot in the record book with 38. 

• Hopfer is ninth 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 … Ekeland has 42 points in his young Duquesne career, putting him 10th on the all-time list at DU. 

• Hopfer moved up to fourth all-time in career shots after opening weekend … His 172 shots trail third place by 17, as Simon Gomez (2010-13) has 189 … Joshua Patterson (2009-12) took 220 in his career to lead all DU players. 

• Ekeland is already tied for fifth all-time with Steve Mellor (2002-05) with eight career game-winning goals in his second season … Hopfer has seven game-winning goals in his career, the 6th most in DU history … 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 24 … Simon Gomez (2010-13) is second with 27 and Derek MacKenzie (2001-04) is the all-time leader with 28 ...  Dragisich is tied for fifth all-time in career matches started at DU with 72 ... 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 in wins and has accounted for three of the program's five postseason wins – all in the past two years. 

• Coach Brooks holds a 77-82-25 record at DU and is 99-88-34 all-time as a head coach including two seasons at Niagara … In A-10 play Brooks is 33-38-15. 

• Brooks has led the Dukes to five Atlantic 10 Conference tournament appearances (2013, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2022, & 2023), 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. 

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