Pittsburgh, Pa. – The No. 23 Duquesne University men's soccer team matched a season high with its fourth consecutive win Tuesday, concluding the non-conference portion of its 2024 regular season with a 1-0 victory over Northern Kentucky at Rooney Field. In establishing a new school record with its 11th consecutive victory at home dating to last year, the Dukes improved to 11-2-1 (.821) overall.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Playing less than three hours after
moving up a spot in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll, it was fitting Duquesne searched for history and it occurring in a one-goal contest as well as a clean sheet. In a match that saw each team post 13 shots, with the Dukes owning a slight edge in shots on goal (5-4), senior goalkeeper
Zoltan Nagy, the reigning Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week, recorded his second straight shutout while posting four saves. He was at his best in the first half as a header from Caleb Mundell floated toward the back of the box. Steven Boaghe Braniste was positioned perfectly to get a roundabout shot off that was sailing toward the top of the net before Nagy leapt and knocked it away. A near carbon copy in the final numbers, Romeo Paparesta notched four saves for NKU, each team had four shots in the first half and nine after the break and both programs finished with four corner kicks.
QUOTABLE
"Every day we step on the field is an opportunity to get better," head coach
Chase Brooks said. "Tonight's no different. We know we've got a big one on Saturday, but you have to take it one game at a time. You can't take your foot off the gas. I thought we started poorly tonight, and that just wasn't good enough. Ultimately, we still got the result. Proud of the effort the guys put in and the way they were able to turn it around and stay competitive. Their job is to stay focused on the next action, and I thought they did that really well tonight. They stayed laser-focused on what they were supposed to do and the result followed."
MAGIC MAXI
The lone difference in shots on goal that went in Duquesne's favor came off the foot of senior forward
Maxi Hopfer, who continued his scoring run Tuesday against the Norse. Off a throw-in from redshirt sophomore
Ashwin Menon from the far sideline, senior
Jesper Moksnes provided a perfect header into the middle of the box that found the foot of Hopfer, who laced one past Paparesta at 15:53 to push the Dukes in front. Hopfer has scored a point in seven of his last eight games, with 14 points total during that stretch courtesy of six goals and a pair of assists, and leads Duquesne this season in scoring with 18 points (7 G, 4 A).
QUOTABLE
"This is a group that believes in everything we're doing," Brooks said. "They're a very close group, they enjoy being around each other and they're enjoying the process. You see it in those celebrations and in those moments. Everybody understands their role, and the nice thing is everyone is willing to sacrifice and have each other's back. You can't ask much more from a group than that."
NOTES
In addition to having won 11 consecutive games at Rooney Field dating to last season, the eight wins in 2024 are the most in a season at home ... The Dukes finished with seven wins at home on five occasions, the last of which came in 2021 (7-0-1) ... Duquesne improved to 10-5-2 (.647) all-time when ranked thanks to the triumph … Northern Kentucky (2-4-7) was led in shots by Jason Purks, who came off the bench and in 60 minutes unleashed five shots … Hopfer picked up his 12th career game-winning goal, extending his own school record, and now owns 64 career points … Freshman
Dan Banks, who played a total of 15 minutes coming into tonight's match, logged a career-high 38 against the Norse … Moksnes continues to be the iron man for the Dukes, playing a full 90 for the 16th consecutive game dating back to last season … The clean sheet for Nagy was his sixth of the year … Five of Duquesne's eight wins at home this season have been by one goal, including a trio of victories by the score of 1-0 and two more with a 2-1 final.
UP NEXT
Duquesne heads to Amherst, Mass., for a Noon match against Massachusetts at Rudd Field Saturday, Oct. 26, in a return to Atlantic 10 play before returning home to host Fordham Saturday, Nov. 2, at 7:00 p.m. for Senior Day at Rooney Field.
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