PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University men's soccer team will return to the pitch on Saturday at Niagara after an eight-day stretch of no games since its home-opening tie against Bowling Green last Thursday (Aug. 31).

THE BASICS 

September 9th, 2023 | 7:00 PM | Niagara Field (Niagara University, NY) 

Niagara Purple Eagles (0-3-1, 0-0 MAAC) 

• Streak: L2 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

Duquesne Dukes (1-1-1, 0-0 A-10) 

• Streak: T1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

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

BY THE NUMBERS 

THE DUKES 

• Duquesne picked up a draw in last week's matchup against Bowling Green State University. Jaydan Da and Zach Mowka were the two goal-scorers for the Dukes in that one.  

• Jaydan Da's goal in the last game was his 2nd of the year and his 3rd career goal as a Duke.  

• Duquesne goalkeeper Zolton Nagy ranks 16th in the nation for saves with 17 in the first three games of the season.  

• After having eight assists the first weekend of the season, both Dukes goals were unassisted against Bowling Green State … DU still leads the A-10 in assists per game (2.67). 

• Anthony DiFalco and Sam Bennett picked up yellow cards in Duquesne's last match.  

• Ekeland (10 shots / 7 on goal) and Da (7 shots / 6 on goal) have led the offensive attack early on … Da leads the A-10 with an 85.7% shot on goal percentage. 

• Duquesne leads the nation in shots per game, with an average of 9.67 shots, and is 9th in Division I in shot accuracy firing 61.7% on target. 

• DU is the highest scoring offense in the A-10 averaging 2.67 goals per game, which is also 12th in the nation. 

LAST TIME OUT 

• Duquesne never led in their home opener against Bowling Green State University, but they responded twice in the first half with equalizers and held strong on defense to earn a 2-2 draw. 

• Duquesne heavily outshot the Falcons (10-7 BGSU / 17-12 DU on goal), but they were unable to push across that third goal.  

• Jaydan Da scored the first equalizer with a strike to the far post off a deflected stretch pass from Jesper Moksnes.  

• Zach Mowka beat the Falcons goalkeeper Brendan Graves to tie things up in the 43rd minute.  

• The Dukes defense fended off five corner kicks in the match. 

THE PURPLE EAGLES 

• The Niagara Purple Eagles enter their 34th season in the Mid Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and are coming off a brutal 6-1 loss to Stonehill on Monday.  

• Niagara lost their season opener against #22 Akron 6-0.  

• The Purple Eagles lost their top 5 point-getters in 2022 and have struggled to find scoring production, scoring only two goals in four games this year. 

• They return 10 players from 2022, including captains Asher Barnes and Cam Roach.  

• Sophomore Jamie Barry has claimed the starting job in net for the Purple Eagles. He was the backup to Josh Savoni last year; however, he did log 599 minutes in net with a 1.80 GAA.  

• Bill Boyle enters his eighth year as head coach of Niagara. He holds a 33-74-11 with the program.  

• Niagara was picked to finish 7th in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.  

THE SERIES 

• Duquesne leads the series historically with a 4-1-1 record against Niagara.  

• Last time these squads met was September 10th, 2019...Duquesne won this game 2-1 in Pittsburgh.  

• In Niagara, Duquesne leads the series 1-0-1 with a tie in 2007 and a win in 2015. 

• This will be their first meeting in Niagara since 2015, when the Dukes won 3-1 on the road.  

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 69-76-23 record at DU and is 91-82-32 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 

• The Dukes return home to battle Robert Morris on Wednesday Sept. 13. 

• They follow that up with two more home games against Massachusetts (Sept. 16th), the A-10 opener, and Xavier (Sept. 19th).  

FOLLOW THE DUKES 

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