PREVIEW: Men's Soccer Takes On RMU Wednesday Night at Rooney Field

PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University men's soccer team will be back home on Wednesday night for a battle against local rival Robert Morris.

THE BASICS

September 13, 2023 | 7:00 PM | Rooney Field (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Robert Morris Colonials (3-0-2, 1-0 Horizon)

Streak: W1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule

Duquesne Dukes (2-1-1, 0-0 A-10)

Streak: W1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule

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BY THE NUMBERS

THE DUKES

Duquesne used a strong second half to down Niagara, 2-1, Saturday night on the road in its first game back from an eight-day layoff.

Jayden Da scored both times for DU on Saturday and has now scored in three straight games, while accounting for three of the last four Duquesne scores in the past two matches.
The Dukes lead Division I in shot on goal per game (9.25) and are 10th in four stat categories; scoring offense (2.5 goals per game), shot accuracy (.561 shot on goal percentage), assists per game (2.75), and points per game (7.75).
DU leads the A-10 and is 21st in the nation in assists with 11 … The Dukes added three assists on Saturday.
16.5 shots taken per game is the second most in the A-10 and 15th most in Division I.
Duquesne goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy ranks 26th in the nation and leads the Atlantic 10 in saves per game at 5.0.
Ask Ekeland (16 shots / 10 on goal) and Da (11 shots / 8 on goal) have led the offensive attack early on … Da leads the A-10 with an 72.7% shot on goal percentage, while Ekeland (62.5%) and Nate Dragisich (50.0%) are right behind in second and fourth, respectively.
Da leads the A-10 with two game winners and is second in goals scored (4), goals per game (1.0), and points per game (2.25).
Ekeland is atop the A-10 in shots on goal per game (2.50) and Da is right behind in second at 2.0.

LAST TIME OUT

Duquesne was held scoreless against Niagara in the first half on Saturday night, but the Dukes fired back twice to hang on for a 2-1 victory on the road over the Purple Eagles.
Even with an 8-3 shot advantage in the first half, DU could not get anything to the back of the net through the first 45.
That all changed just over a minute into the second half, as Ask Ekeland set up Jayden Da for the Dukes first goal … Da was back at it in the 67th minute off assists by Christoffer Vie Angell and Anthony DiFalco.
The Purple Eagles tried to rally late with an 80th minute goal, but the DU defense stood strong.
Zoltan Nagy totaled three saves across all 90 minutes between the posts.
The Dukes outshot NU 19-11 and 8-5 on goal.
Duquesne's defense did not allow a corner kick, while the attack created five corners on the other end.
Ekeland fired a game and career high 13 shots.

THE COLONIALS

The Robert Morris Colonials enter the matchup unbeaten through five matches with a 3-0-2 record.

RMU is 2-0-1 on the road and will be playing its fourth straight away match.
Last time out, the Colonials won their first Horizon League match of the season, 2-1, over Northern Kentucky on Saturday.
The 13 goals scored this season lead the Horizon League and are 8th in the NCAA.
RMU has 15 returners and 15 newcomers on the roster in 2023 … 11 of the newcomers are freshman along with four transfers … Victor Koah returns after being named to the Horizon League All-Freshman team last season.
Sophomore Anass Hadran leads the team with six points and is one of three players with two goals alongside juniors Kai McLoughlin, a UMass Lowell transfer, and Gabe Norris.
10 players have accounted for RMU's 13 goals this season.
Freshman keeper Kieran Gorgenyi has started all five games for RMU and has surrendered six goals for a 1.24 GAA and has 13 saves for a .684 save percentage.
Jonathan Potter and the entire RMU coaching staff is in their first season with the Colonials.

RMU was picked to finish eighth in the 10-team Horizon League Preseason Coaches' Poll.

THE SERIES

Duquesne leads the all-time series 18-6-3.
The matchup has been played every season (except 2020) since the first meeting on Oct. 10, 1995, alternating home and away each year.
The Dukes are riding a four-game win streak in the series and have not lost since 2015 … Last season, DU downed the Colonials 2-1 on the road.
At Rooney Field, Duquesne is 12-1-0 in 13 all-time meetings with RMU.

HOME SWEET HOME

Duquesne went 6-1-2 last season on its home turf at Rooney Field.

Since the beginning of the 2020 season, the Dukes are 19-3-5 at home.

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.
Nate Dragisich is currently 3rd all-time at Duquesne in career assists with 19 … Simon Gomez (2010-13) is second with 27 and Derek MacKenzie (2001-04) is the all-time leader with 28.

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 70-76-23 record at DU and is 92-82-32 all-time as a head coach including two seasons at Niagara … In A-10 play Brooks is 29-36-13.

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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