GAME 12
Duquesne (8-2-1 | 3-1-0 Atlantic 10) at No. 13 George Mason (10-1-0 | 4-0-0 Atlantic 10)
Saturday, Oct. 12 | 7:00 p.m.
George Mason Stadium | Fairfax, Va.
 
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From The Pitch
 
- The Duquesne University men's soccer team travels to Fairfax, Va., Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. match against No. 13 George Mason at George Mason Stadium. The Patriots and Dukes sit in first and second place, respectively, in the Atlantic 10 standings entering the contest.
 
- Duquesne stretched its home winning streak dating to last season to nine with a 3-0 win over Rhode Island (Oct. 9) in its last outing. Scoreless after 45 minutes, the Dukes got on the board thanks to a penalty kick, with junior forward Dakota Jonke scoring from the spot to break the scoreless draw.
 
- Also registering goals in the win over the Rams were freshman Bendix Bennetzen and senior Maxi Hopfer. The pair scored two minutes and 37 seconds apart to break open the game. For Bennetzen, it marked his first career NCAA goal, while Hopfer has now registered a goal in four of his last five games.
 
- The Dukes dropped their first Atlantic 10 game of the 2024 season in their last road game, falling at Saint Louis, 3-0. Duquesne managed just one shot in the contest.
 
- Senior forward Maxi Hopfer is tied for the Atlantic 10 lead in game-winning goals with Alex Hughes of Massachusetts and Marek Gonda of George Mason, as each of the trio have three to their credit. Hopfer's game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over Saint Joseph's marked the 10th of his career, tying a Duquesne career record.
 
- Duquesne has won consecutive games this season by the identical scores of 3-1 (Seton Hill and Canisius), 1-0 (at Xavier and vs. Niagara) and 2-1 (Mount St. Mary's and Saint Joseph's). Both of the losses during the 2024 season for the Dukes, meanwhile, have come by the count of 3-0.
 
- A 2-1 win over Mount St. Mary's helped head coach Chase Brooks garner his 83rd career victory on the Bluff, allowing him to pass former head coach Wade Jean (1998-2005) for the most wins in program history. In 12 years at Duquesne, Brooks has recorded a mark of 85-85-26 (.500). Overall in 14 seasons, Brooks is 107-97-35 (.521) as a head coach.
 
- A total of 11 Dukes have registered a point through the first 11 games of the 2024 season, with senior forward Maxi Hopfer owning a team-high 12 thanks to five goals and two assists. Hopfer ranks seventh in the Atlantic 10 in points.
 
- Senior forward Maxi Hopfer was named to the 2024 All-Atlantic 10 Preseason Team at forward in a vote of league head coaches. In his last full season in 2022, Hopfer was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team after finishing with 14 points thanks to five goals and four assists. In 2021, Hopfer found the back of the net 11 times and also distributed six assists in finishing with 28 points to earn a spot on the All-Atlantic 10 First Team.
 
- Duquesne returns home to Rooney Field for its next two matches after taking on George Mason, beginning Saturday, Oct. 19, with a 7:00 p.m. Atlantic 10 tilt against Davidson.
 
Scouting the Patriots – Located in Fairfax, Va. … George Mason carries a five-game winning streak into Saturday's match against the Dukes and is 6-0 at home … The Patriots are coming off a 2-1 win over Loyola Chicago (Oct. 9), scoring twice in the second half to erase a 1-0 halftime deficit … GMU ranks third in the Atlantic 10 in goals (24) and scoring offense (2.18) as well as tied for third in scoring defense (1.00) with Duquesne … Graduate student Marek Gonda, a transfer from DePaul, and sophomore Quentin Clain have combined for 27 points this season, with Gonda owning six goals and two assists and Clain five markers and two helpers … George Mason is under the guidance of head coach Rich Costanzo, who is in his third season at the helm … Costanzo was named the 11th head coach in program history after five seasons as an assistant coach at Pittsburgh … Costanzo is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School in the South Hills region of Pittsburgh, played collegiately at Maryland and played in more than 100 games over five years professionally, including 43 games with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds … The Dukes and Patriots meet for the eighth time Saturday, with Duquesne owning a 4-1-2 (.714) mark in the all-time series … George Mason earned its first victory in the series last year at Rooney Field, 1-0, while the Dukes are 3-0 against the Patriots in Fairfax, Va.

Clean Sheet – Senior Zoltan Nagy has come up huge for Duquesne at multiple points throughout the 2024 season, and he registered three saves in a 3-0 win over Rhode Island in picking up his fourth shutout of the year. Nagy enters Saturday's match at GMU tied for second in the Atlantic 10 in saves (41) with Nicolas Pucci of St. Bonaventure and just one behind Edu Rodriguez of Rhode Island, who paces the circuit with 42. Nagy is also tied for third in the A-10 in shutouts and ranks fourth in goals against average (1.05).

Spot On – Junior Dakota Jonke picked up his first career game-winning goal in a 3-0 win over Rhode Island, as his penalty kick snapped a scoreless tie in the second half. Both of the goals for Jonke this season have come via penalty kick, and the goal was part of a four-point night for the Cleveland, Ohio, native. Jonke registered a pair of assists in the win over the Rams, becoming the first member of the Dukes this season to score at least four points in a game.

Maximum Overdrive – Maxi Hopfer has been one of the most consistent scorers for the Dukes during his career on the Bluff, and after a 2023 season where he dealt with injuries, the senior forward is looking to go out on a high note. Hopfer has scored a goal in four of Duquesne's last five games and enters Saturday's tilt at George Mason with career totals of 23 goals, 12 assists and 58 points. Thanks to his game-winning marker in a 2-1 triumph over Saint Joseph's, Hopfer tied a program record in the category with his 10th. David Gingrich produced 10 game-winning goals during his career from 1999 to 2002, a mark that was tied by Damien Pottinger (2000-03) in 2003. Arguably the most impressive statistic for Hopfer is that he's taken just 15 shots this season, 11 of which have been on goal, a shot on goal percentage of 73.3 percent, and has scored goals on just under half the shots that have come on target.
 
One – Thanks to a 2-1 victory over Saint Joseph's, the Dukes improved to 27-8 (.771) in one-goal matches since the beginning of the 2021 season, including a perfect 5-0 mark this season. Included in that stretch is a 16-3 (.842) record in such games at Rooney Field and a 11-5 (.688) mark on the road.
 
Another Milestone – Senior forward Maxi Hopfer became the ninth Duquesne student-athlete in program history to reach 50 career points in a 1-0 win at Xavier, as his assist on the game-winning goal by redshirt sophomore Jaxon Ervin helped him reach the threshold. Thanks to his goal that sealed a 3-0 triumph over Rhode Island, Hopfer moved into sole possession of third place all-time on the Bluff with 23 career goals. Only Damien Pottinger (2000-03), with 38, and Joshua Patterson (2009-12), who scored 29 career goals, own more. Hopfer also cracked the top five in the Duquesne career record book for points, as well, thanks to his goal against the Rams. He is tied for fifth with Travis MacKenzie (2004-07) and is just two points shy of moving into sole possession of fourth place all-time with the Dukes.  
 
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