GAME 14
Northern Kentucky (2-3-7) vs. #24 Duquesne (10-2-1)
Tuesday, Oct. 22 | 6:00 p.m.
Rooney Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
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From The Pitch
 
- The Duquesne University men's soccer team concludes the non-conference portion of its 2024 schedule Tuesday with a 6:00 p.m. match against Northern Kentucky at Rooney Field.
 
- The Dukes stretched their winning streak at home dating to last season to 10 and remained in a tie atop the Atlantic 10 standings in their last outing, a 1-0 win over Davidson. Redshirt sophomore Blaize Hardy registered his first career goal on a header at 10:48 for the only score of the contest.
 
- Senior goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy earned his fifth shutout of the 2024 season as well as the seventh of his career in the win over the Wildcats. For his efforts, Nagy was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season.
 
- Duquesne is one of six teams in NCAA Division I to own at least 10 wins this season, joining George Mason and Pittsburgh, which are each 11-3-0, and Ohio State (10-1-2), Missouri State (10-2-1) and Penn (10-2-1).
 
- Prior to their win over the Wildcats, the Dukes earned a 2-1 victory at No. 13 George Mason (Oct. 12). Senior forward Maxi Hopfer took a feed from redshirt sophomore Blaize Hardy and scored with 17 seconds remaining to give Duquesne just its second win over a ranked opponent in program history.
 
- Thanks to its win over the Patriots, Duquesne earned its first national ranking of the 2024 season. The Dukes are ranked 24th according to United Soccer Coaches entering its game against the Norse. Updated rankings for Week 9 will be announced Tuesday.
 
- Senior forward Maxi Hopfer established a new program record for game-winning goals in the win at George Mason, as the marker against the Patriots was the 11th of his career. Hopfer has registered a point in six of the last seven games with five goals and two assists (12 points) during that stretch.
 
- Senior forward Maxi Hopfer leas the Atlantic 10 in game-winning goals (4) and is tied for sixth in the conference in points (16) with Hjalti Sigurdsson of Dayton. Hopfer is one of 10 student-athletes in NCAA Division I that are tied for second in the country in game-winning goals, with Marius Stenner of Delaware leading the nation with five.
 
- 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 87-85-26 (.505). Overall in 14 seasons, Brooks is 109-97-35 (.525) as a head coach.
 
- A total of 12 Dukes have registered a point through the first 13 games of the 2024 season, as the assist for redshirt sophomore Blaize Hardy in the win at George Mason marked his first point on the Bluff.
 
- Duquesne returns to Atlantic 10 play after hosting NKU, traveling to Amherst, Mass., Saturday, Oct. 26 for a Noon kickoff against Massachusetts at Rudd Field.
 
Scouting the Norse – Located in Highland Heights, Ky. … Member of the Horizon League … Tuesday's match is the second in the all-time series between Northern Kentucky and Duquesne, with the Norse having earned a 2-1 overtime victory over the Dukes at Rooney Field August 31, 2018 … NKU owns an overall record of 2-3-7 (.458) this season, including a 1-1-4 (.500) mark in the Horizon League … Tuesday's match against Duquesne wraps up a three-game road trip for the Norse that opened with a scoreless draw at Green Bay (Oct. 12) and featured a 2-1 loss at IU Indianapolis (Oct. 19) … Tom Poitras is in his third season as head coach at Northern Kentucky after an 11-year stint at Hartford … Senior midfielder Tyler Murphy leads the Norse in scoring during the 2024 season with eight points … Murphy registered his team-high fourth goal of the year in NKU's last outing against the Jaguars.   

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 point in six of Duquesne's last seven games after posting an assist on Blaize Hardy's goal in a 1-0 win over Davidson and enters Tuesday's game with career totals of 24 goals, 14 assists and 62 points. In addition to establishing a new program career record for game-winning goals (11) at George Mason, Hopfer ranks fourth place all-time for the Dukes in points (62). Arguably the most impressive statistic for Hopfer is that he's taken just 19 shots this season, 12 of which have been on goal, a shot on goal percentage of 63.2 percent, and has scored goals on half the shots that have come on target.
 
One – Thanks to a 1-0 victory over Davidson, the Dukes improved to 29-8 (.784) in one-goal matches since the beginning of the 2021 season, including a perfect 7-0 mark this season. Included in that stretch is a 17-3 (.850) record in such games at Rooney Field and a 12-5 (.706) mark on the road.
 
Six – In its two losses this season, Duquesne has allowed six goals. In the other 11 games, the defense for the Dukes has yielded six goals, an average of 0.55 per game.
 
Ten – Duquesne picked up its 10th victory of the 2024 season with a 1-0 triumph over Davidson, marking the ninth time in program history the Dukes have amassed at least 10 wins in a season. Duquesne has also won at least 10 games in three of the last four years, posting a mark of 39-20-10 (.636) since the beginning of the 2021 campaign. The school record for victories is 13, which has happened five times (1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005).
 
Protect This House – A key reason Duquesne owns an overall record of 39-20-10 (.638) record since the beginning of the 2021 season has been protecting its turf at Rooney Field. The Dukes enter Tuesday's game against Northern Kentucky having won 10 consecutive matches at home dating back to last season, which has tied a school record. Duquesne originally won the final four games of the 2004 season and the first five contests of 2005 for its first 10-game home winning streak. Over the last four years at Rooney Field, Duquesne has amassed a record of 25-3-4 (.844) on the Bluff.
 
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 also 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.
 
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