PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University men's soccer team continues its longest away trip of the season, with its second straight match on the road Saturday night at Saint Joseph's.

THE BASICS 

September 30, 2023 | 5:00 PM | Sean Sweeney Field (Philadelphia, PA) 

Duquesne Dukes (4-2-2, 1-0-1 A-10) 

• Streak: T1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule

Saint Joseph's Hawks (3-6-1, 1-0-1 A-10) 

• Streak: L1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

 
GAMEDAY COVERAGE
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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 six of their last seven including two road wins against Virginia Tech and Niagara.  

• Duquesne hung on for a 1-0 win in their first conference match of 2023 against UMass. They got on the board early with an 11th minute goal from Ask Ekeland.  

• Their second conference match ended in a 1-1 draw at Loyola Chicago in a rematch of 2022's A-10 semifinal. Nate Dragisisch scored the only goal for Duquesne off the feed from Tate Mohney.  

• Jayden Da has a team-leading five goals, which averages out to .62 per game – the third-best mark in the A-10 and 47th-best in Division I … Three of the five scores have been game winners - the most in the A-10 and fifth-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. 

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

• Duquesne leads the A-10 and ranks 9th in the nation in saves per game with 5.62.  

• The Dukes also lead the A-10 in shot accuracy at a 56.5% clip, which is 6th best in the nation.  

• DU is fourth in the A-10 and 39th in the nation in assists with 12 … The Dukes have had seven assists over the past five goals (five games). 

• Duquesne goalkeeper Zolton Nagy has two clean sheets this season, which came in back-to-back 1-0 wins versus RMU and UMass. He ranks 13th in the nation and leads the Atlantic 10 with 43 saves.  

•  Da ranks 11th in the NCAA and second in the conference in shot accuracy (68.8), while Ekeland (52.4%) is not too far behind him, ranking fifth 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' 15 assists this season … Anthony DiFalco, Jaydan Da, Jaxon Ervin and Tate Mohney have two assists each to lead the team.  

LAST TIME OUT 

• Duquesne battled to a 1-1 draw on the road at Loyola Chicago. The Dukes struck first in the 63rd minute with a goal from Nate Dragisich. He received the ball in the box from Tate Mohney and finished with a perfectly placed header past the right side of Ramblers goalie Aidan Crawford.  

• Loyola Chicago (5-1-2, 1-0-1 A-10) responded minutes later with a goal of their own from Lukas Ender. Ender tapped the ball in the back of the net with his head off of the corner kick from Benni Hoffman.  

• Duquesne was outshot by Loyola 20-4 in the match. The shots on goal also favored the Ramblers by an 11-3 margin.  

• However, Dukes goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy was able to keep DU right in the match charting a career-best 10 saves. 

THE HAWKS 

• Saint Joseph's has had a shaky start to the 2023 campaign, holding a 3-6-1 record, but has found a way to remain unbeaten in conference play with a tie at La Salle and win over Dayton.

• The Hawks come off a 3-6-8 season last year, where they did not make the A-10 Tournament. Their last appearance in the tournament was in 2021, where they lost to the Dukes in the first round.

• SJU holds a 1-5 record at home this year, with its only win being a 1-0 conference win over Dayton on Monday.  

• The Hawks tied La Salle in their conference opener 1-1 on September 16 ... SJU has been held to one goal or less in seven of its 10 matches.  

• Saint Joseph's was picked to finish in a tie with Davidson for 9th in the A-10 Preseason Poll.  

• Blake Driehuis ranks second in the nation and leads the A-10 in goals with seven.  

• Bart Kooistra leads the team in assists with three.  

THE SERIES  

• Duquesne and Saint Joseph's have played 15 times since the start of the 2002 season (the first meeting).  

• In their most recent match on October 5, 2022, the Dukes and Hawks battled their way to a 0-0 draw.  

• Duquesne has had the definitive upper hand in this series, posting a 12-2-2 record all time against SJU.

• The Dukes went eight straight games without losing to the Hawks during a stretch spanning from 2009-2021, when the streak ended with a 3-1 Saint Joseph's win.  

• This is the first regular season match in Philadelphia since October 16, 2021, where SJU ended the aforementioned Duquesne win streak ... DU won the last matchup in Philadelphia, 2-1 in the first round of the 2021 A-10 playoffs.

• Duquesne is 8-2 on the road against the Hawks.

ROAD WARRIORS 

• Since the start of 2022, Duquesne has had a winning record in games away from home at 7-4-3.  

• They posted two notable wins against Power Five schools with a 1-0 win over Michigan in 2022 and a 5-1 victory over Virginia Tech.  

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 ... Dragisich is also now tied for ninth all-time in career matches started at DU with 67 ... Noah Salsi (2003-06) is the all-time leader with 77 starts as a Duke.

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 73-78-24 record at DU and is 95-84-34 all-time as a head coach including two seasons at Niagara … In A-10 play Brooks is 30-36-14. 

• 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. 

UP NEXT 

• Duquesne will finish off a three-game road trip with a 7 p.m. match on Wednesday at Davidson.  

FOLLOW THE DUKES 

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