PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University men's soccer team will begin a three-game, Atlantic 10 road trip on Saturday at Loyola Chicago.

THE BASICS 

September 23, 2023 | 3:00 PM (CT) / 4:00 PM (ET) | Loyola Soccer Park (Chicago, IL.) 

Duquesne Dukes (4-2-1, 1-0 A-10) 

• Streak: L1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule

Loyola Chicago Ramblers (5-1-1, 1-0 A10) 

• Streak: W3 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

 
GAMEDAY COVERAGE
Watch Live on ESPN+  |  Follow Live Stats  |  Gameday Central 

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 five of their last six, including two straight 1-0 home wins over Robert Morris and UMass last week.  

• The Dukes hung on for a 1-0 win in their first conference match of 2023 against UMass last Saturday. They got on the board early with an 11th minute goal from Ask Ekeland. This was enough to grab the win.  

• Duquesne is 2-1 away from home, with wins over Virginia Tech and Niagara, and their lone loss came against James Madison in the season opener.  

• Jayden Da has scored three of the last four goals for the Dukes and four of the last six over the past five matches.  

• DU is 3-0-1 when Da scores, with wins against Virginia Tech, Niagara and Robert Morris 

• Da has a team-leading five goals, which averages out to .71 per game – the third-best mark in the A-10 and 31st-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 against UMass to give Da 12 points, which rank second in the A-10 and 15th in the nation.  

• Duquesne leads the A-10 in saves per game with 5.  

• The Dukes also lead the A-10 in shot accuracy at a 55.7% clip, which is 6th best in the nation.  

• DU is third in the A-10 and 30th in the nation in assists with 12 … The Dukes have had six assists over the past four goals (four games). 

• Duquesne goalkeeper Zolton Nagy recorded his second clean sheet as a Duke on Saturday and ranks 13th in the nation and leads the Atlantic 10 with 33 saves.  

• Da (16 shots / 11 on goal) and Ask Ekeland (20 shots / 11 on goal) have led the offensive attack so far this year… Da ranks second in the A-10 with a 68.8% in shot accuracy, which is also good for 12th in the NCAA, while Ekeland (55%) is right behind him for third in the conference.  

• Ekeland and Da are tied for third in the A-10 in shots on goal per game (1.57).  

• 11 players have accounted for the Dukes' 14 assists this season … Anthony DiFalco, Jaydan Da, and Jaxon Ervin have two assists each to lead the team and rank in the top 12 of the conference.  

LAST TIME OUT 

• Duquesne got behind the eight-ball early, as Jerome Jolly took a touch from Taylor Rhinehart and scored a beautiful goal from beyond the box to give Xavier a 1-0 lead just 22 minutes in. 

• Three minutes later, Xavier converted upon chaos in front of Zolton Nagy and they were rewarded as Sam Bennett put the ball into his own net, landing the Musketeers a 2-0 lead.   

• Xavier did not let up in the second half, and outshot Duquesne 8-3.  

• Zolton Nagy totaled four saves in 90 minutes between the posts for DU. Jonny Mennell had only two saves for Xavier.  

THE RAMBLERS 

• Loyola Chicago, a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, has started the season off scorching-hot with a record of 5-1-1.  

• The Ramblers are coming off a 9-2-7 season in 2022, where they lost to SLU in the championship game of the A-10 Tournament.  

• They did not lose at home last season, recording a 7-0-1 record. This year they boast a 2-1 record at Loyola Soccer Park.  

• Loyola's only loss came at home in a 2-1 loss to UIC.  

• Aside from that loss, they have lived up to the expectations placed upon them in the preseason poll, where they were picked to finish 3rd.  

• They are fresh off a 4-2 win over DePaul on the road.  

• Loyola lost leading scorer Billy Hency (7 goals in 2022) to graduation last year, but guys like Petar Janjic (4 goals), Markus Maurer (3) and Oscar Dueso (3) have picked up the slack in 2023. 

• John Gates leads the team in assists with four.  

• They downed George Washington 2-0 in their A-10 opener on the road last Saturday.  

THE SERIES 

• Duquesne and Loyola-Chicago met last year for the first time during the regular season and then they met again during the A-10 tournament semifinals.  

• Tom Tzabari netted the game-winner in the 58th minute to lift the Dukes to a 2-1 home win when these two teams met for the first time on September 17th, 2022.  

• In their second and most recent matchup, Loyola Chicago upset Duquesne in the A-10 tournament semifinals 1-0.  

• Marc Torrellas scored the deciding goal in the 59th minute.  

• This will be the first time these two teams play at Loyola Soccer Park, with the first two meetings being at Rooney Field in Pittsburgh.  

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR VENGEANCE 

• One of the best seasons of Duquesne Soccer came to an end last year at the hands of Loyola Chicago in the 2022 A-10 tournament semifinals.  

• Duquesne was the #2 seed in the tournament with Loyola being the #4 seed.  

• The loss snapped DU's home unbeaten streak at a school record 16 games. 

• The Ramblers would go on to lose the A-10 Championship game to Saint Louis in a shootout.  

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 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 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 73-78-23 record at DU and is 95-84-33 all-time as a head coach including two seasons at Niagara … In A-10 play Brooks is 30-36-13. 

• 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 stay on the road and head to Philadelphia for a 5 PM match on Saturday at St. Josephs and a 7 PM tilt on Oct. 4th at Davidson.  

FOLLOW THE DUKES 

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