PITTSBURGH - Duquesne did not have the lead at any point in Thursday night's clash with Bowling Green, but they did come away with a 2-2 draw in a highly entertaining home-opening match from start to end from Rooney Field.  

The first half started with both sides feeling each other out. Ashton Jell almost got the Dukes on the board after he made a nice cut into the box, but the shot was right into Falcons goalie Brendan Graves' gut. Five minutes later, Bowling Green State drew first blood. Falcons captain Kyle Cusimano headed the ball towards goal off of a corner, and it hit off the top crossbar, but when it came down, it cleared the goal line. Play continued for a few seconds after, but eventually it was stopped to bookmark the goal.  

Duquesne struck back however with a goal of their own in the 22nd minute. Jayden Da snagged the ball after the stretch pass from Jesper Moksnes into the box was fumbled by Graves and slotted it into the right corner of the net. It was Da's second goal of the year, and the game was tied at one.  

Rodrigo Montez Silva would get his team back in front five minutes later. After a free kick from Alberto Anaya kicked off of a Duke defender, Silva was there to collect the loose change to give his side a 2-1 lead. But Duquesne responded with an equalizer of their own. The ball was lofted into the box by Christoffer Vie Angell, and after Graves failed to catch the ball, Zach Mowka placed it right into the net to tie the game at two. The game would stay this way headed into halftime.  

In the second half, things got very chippy. Three yellow cards and one red card were awarded in the half. Defense tightened up for both sides as well. Dangerous chances were at a minimum, and the game ended at a 2-2 tie.  

Duquesne had the best chance of the half in the 86th minute when Nate Dragisich rolled in from the left side of the box and popped it on net. But Graves was there and swallowed it up to keep it tied. In the final minute, Anthony DiFalco found himself with a point blank chance to win the game, and while his shot was certainly on target, it was blocked by the head of Falcon defender Amer Dedic.  

The Dukes outshot Bowling Green State 17-10, but in the end, they just could not push that deciding third goal across to pick up the three points. 

Duquesne will be off until September 9 when they travel to Niagara for a 7 pm kickoff.

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