PREVIEW: Dukes Return Home To Host George Mason

10/6/2023 6:00:00 PM

Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Duquesne University men's soccer team returns home Saturday to host George Mason at Rooney Field.

THE BASICS

October 7, 2023 | 7:00 p.m. | Arthur J. Rooney Field (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

George Mason Patriots (2-5-2 / 1-3-0 A-10)

Streak: L1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule

Duquesne Dukes (5-3-2 / 2-1-1 A-10)

Streak: L1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule

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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 last nine, including three road wins against Virginia Tech, Niagara and St. Joseph's.
Duquesne dropped its first conference match of the year last time out against Davidson.

Duquesne picked up points in its first three conference games, going 2-0-1.
Ask Ekeland and Jayden Da lead the Dukes with six goals each on the year, ranking 41st in the nation and 3rd in the A-10.
Ekeland averages 0.6 goals per game, which is second-best in the A-10.
Jayden Da has six goals, which averages out to 0.6 per game – the second-best mark in the A-10 and 45th best in Division I … Three of the six 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 3-1-1 when Da scores, with wins against Virginia Tech, Niagara and Robert Morris.

Duquesne is second in the A-10 and ranks 18th nationally in saves per game with 4.89.
The Dukes lead the A-10 in Shot accuracy at a 51.8% clip, which is 15th best in the nation.
DU is fifth in the A-10 and 43rd in the nation in assists with 17 ... The Dukes have had nine assists over the past eight goals (seven games).
Duquesne goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy has two clean sheets this season. He ranks 12th in the nation and second in the Atlantic 10 with 48 saves.
Ekeland ranks third in the conference in shot accuracy at a 48.1% rate.

Ekeland (1.30) is third and Da (1.20) 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

Davidson (7-2-1 / 3-1-0 A-10) took the early lead, 1-0, in the 17th minute when Denis Krioutchenkov took the ball off a feed from Vincent Bennage and stuffed it in the lower left portion of the net past Dukes goalie Zoltan Nagy.
The Wildcats tacked on another marker eight minutes later when Luke Bryant took a pass from Bennage and bent the ball past Nagy. The goal was Bryant's second on the season, with Bennage collecting his fifth assist of the year.

Duquesne (5-3-2 / 2-1-1 A-10) was able to make a late charge, scoring in the 83rd minute when the Dukes were awarded a penalty kick courtesy of a foul on Ayman Maadir in the box. Jayden Da ran up to the ball and stutter-stepped before blasting it past Lou Liedtka to put Duquesne on the board.
Davidson held a wide margin in fouls, collecting 16 compared to just four from Duquesne. The Dukes were outshot, 17-10, while Davidson also held a 6-3 cushion in shots on goal.

THE PATRIOTS

The George Mason Patriots, members of the A-10, have struggled out the gate, going 2-5-2 to start 2023.
The Patriots are coming off a 2-11-2 record in 2022. They went 1-6-1 in A-10 play.

George Mason is 1-3 in conference action, with their lone win being a 1-0 triumph on Wednesday versus Rhode Island.
They also took down Navy at home handily by a 4-0 score.
George Mason was picked to finish 14th in the A-10 Coaches Preseason Poll.
Souley Diouf leads the Patriots in goals (4) and points (9).
Jaume Salvado has started every game in net for George Mason, owning a 1.67 goals against average (GAA) and two clean sheets on the year.

THE SERIES

Duquesne and George Mason have played five times overall since the first meeting between the two programs in 2013.
In their most recent match on October 8th, 2022, the Dukes took down the Patriots, 1-0, on the road thanks to a 53rd minute strike from Ask Ekeland.
The Dukes have not lost to the Patriots in the all-time series, owning a 3-0-2 record against them.

Both draws for Duquesne against George Mason have come at Rooney Field.

HOME SWEET HOME

Since the beginning of the 2020 season, the Dukes are 21-4-5 at home.
Duquesne went 6-1-2 last season on its home turf at Rooney Field.

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

ALL-TIME LEADERBOARD

Maxi Hopfer is currently seventh 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 fifth with eight 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 third 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 is one match away from cracking the top 10 in program history for career matches (sits 12th with 73) ... Four Dukes are tied for the career record for career matches with 77 ... Dragisich has also moved into a tie for eighth all-time in career starts at DU with 68 ... Noah Salsi (2003-06) is the all-time leader for the Dukes with 77 starts.

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 Chase Brooks, who is in his 11th season leading the Dukes.
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 74-79-24 record at DU and is 96-85-34 all-time as a head coach including two seasons at Niagara … In A-10 play Brooks is 31-37-14.
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.

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