PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University men's soccer team will take on Xavier Tuesday afternoon at Rooney Field. 

THE BASICS
September 19, 2023 | 1:00 PM | Rooney Field (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

Xavier Musketeers (3-2-1, 1-0 Big East)

• Streak: W1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule

Duquesne Dukes (4-1-1, 1-0 A-10)

• Streak: W3 | 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 non-conference matchup without a loss in the last five matches, including two straight 1-0 home wins over Robert Morris and UMass.
• Duquesne hung on for a 1-0 win last time out in their first conference match of 2023. They got on the board early with an 11^th minute goal from Ask Ekeland. This was enough to grab the win. 
• Duquesne has not allowed a goal in 189 straight minutes of action. 
• The Dukes are unbeaten at home so far this season with a 2-0-1 record. 
• Jayden Da has scored three of the last four goals for the Dukes and four of the last six over the past four matches, which DU has been unbeaten (2-2 vs. Bowling Green, 2-1 win at Niagara, 1-0 win over Robert Morris, and 1-0 over UMass)
• Da has a team-leading five goals, which averages out to .83 per game – the third-best mark in the A-10 and 19^th-best in Division I … Three of the five scores have been game winners - the most in the A-10 and third-most in the NCAA … He also recorded his second assist on Saturday to give, Da 12 points, which rank second in the A-10 and 15^th in the nation. 
• The Dukes lead the A-10 in three stat categories and are top 5 in Division I in two of the three… Those include shots on goal per game (7.83) - 4^th in NCAA, shot accuracy (.588) - 5^th in NCAA saves per game (5.17). 
• DU is second in the A-10 and 27^th in the nation in assists with 12 … The Dukes have had six assists over the past four goals (three games).
• Duquesne goalkeeper Zolton Nagy recorded his second clean sheet as a Duke on Saturday and ranks 15^th in the nation and leads the Atlantic 10 with 29 saves. 
• Da (15 shots / 11 on goal) and Ask Ekeland (19 shots / 11 on goal) have led the offensive attack early on … Da leads the A-10 with a 73.3% shot on goal percentage, which is also good for 10^th in the NCAA, while Ekeland (57.9%) is right behind in second in the conference. 
• Ekeland and Da are tied for second in the A-10 in shots on goal per game (1.83). 
• 11 players have accounted for the Dukes' 14 assists this season … Anthony DiFalco, Jayden Da, and Jaxon Ervin have two assists each to lead the team and rank in the top 10 of the conference. 

LAST TIME OUT

• Duquesne got going early with a quick pass from Nate Dragisich leading to a long run from junior forward Jayden Da past two Minutemen before throwing a pass right in front of the net to sophomore midfielder Ask Ekeland who tapped it in in the 11th minute. 
• Despite being outshot in the first half 10-2 DU went into halftime holding onto a 1-0 lead as goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy made three saves to keep the shutout going.
• Trouble would start to surface in the second half including two yellow cards for Duquesne but they stood strong and put some dangerous shots on net including a long volley from sophomore midfielder Ashton Jell that Zambetti saved.
• Despite a 26-5 shot advantage for UMass, the shots on goal were just 6-5 in favor of the Minutemen.
• Nagy earned his second clean sheet as a member of the Dukes in the 1-0 victory. 

THE MUSKETEERS

• Xavier, a member of the Big East Conference, is coming off a 9-2-7 2022 season, where they lost to Creighton in the first round of the Big East Tournament. 
• They held a 5-1-3 record on the road in 2022. 
• For comparison to 2022, they have lost their first two road games this season (3-0 to #5 Marshall, 2-0 to UTRGV). 
• They are fresh off a 3-1 win over DePaul in their Big East opener. 
• Musketeers defender Makel Rasheed returns for his senior year. He was picked in the 3^rd round of the MLS SuperDraft by Nashville SC this year. Another top defender returning is Dylan Kropp, who was a member of the All- BIG EAST Third Team in 2022. 
• Xavier returns their top two point-getters from last year, Fabrizio Bernal De La Garza and Jerome Jolly. De La Garza had nine points (four goals, one assist), while Jerome Jolly contributed eight points (three goals, two assists).
• Xavier was picked to finish fourth in Big East Midwest Division by the coaches in the Big East Preseason Poll. 

THE SERIES

• Duquesne has been very successful historically against Xavier, boasting a 5-1-2 record. 
• Last time these two teams met was on October 19^th, 2012, where two overtimes proved to not be enough time for either team to score a goal in, so it ended in a 0-0 draw. 
• The Dukes haven't lost to Xavier at home, as they own a 3-0-2 record on the Bluff against them. 

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 21-3-5 at home.
• Duquesne has not lost at home yet this year, touting a 2-0-1 record. 

ALL-TIME LEADERBOARD

• Maxi Hopfer is currently 7^th 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 9^th in career points with 46 … Four back of 8^th 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 6^th most in DU history. Steve Mellor (2002-05) is in 5^thwith 8 game winners … Damien Pottinger (2000-03) and David Gingrich (1999-02) are tied for the lead with 10.
• Nate Dragisich is currently 3^rd 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.

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 11^th 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 71-76-23 record at DU and is 93-82-32 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.

UP NEXT

• Duquesne will hit the road to play Loyola Chicago on Saturday at 3 PM. Following that, they have a 5 PM match on Sept. 30^th at St. Josephs and a 7 PM tilt on Oct. 4^th at Davidson. 

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