GAME 10
Duquesne (7-1-1 | 2-0-0 Atlantic 10) at Saint Louis (3-2-4 | 1-0-1 Atlantic 10)
Saturday, Oct. 5 | 8:00 p.m.
Robert R. Hermann Stadium | St. Louis, Mo.
 
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From The Pitch
 
- The Duquesne University men's soccer team travels to St. Louis, Mo., Saturday for an 8:00 p.m. match against Saint Louis at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.
 
- The Dukes improved to 5-0 at home this season and 2-0 in the Atlantic 10 with a 2-1 victory over Saint Joseph's at Rooney Field in their last outing. Goals from Jack Rhead and Maxi Hopfer in the second half gave Duquesne a 2-0 edge before the Hawks scored with under five minutes to play.
 
- Hopfer found the back of the net for the third consecutive game in the win over SJU, which also marked his third straight game-winning goal. Hopfer is tied the Atlantic 10 lead in the category with Alex Hughes of Massachusetts and the game-winning marker against the Hawks was the 10th of his career, tying a Duquesne career record.
 
- Senior forward Maxi Hopfer scored with 1:18 to play to help lift Duquesne to a 2-1 win over Mount St. Mary's prior to its win over Saint Joseph's. The Mount had tied the contest, 1-1, at 84:37, only to watch Hopfer come through with the heroics.
 
- Forward Ali Nasser broke a scoreless contest against Mount St. Mary's at 65:31 with his second goal of the 2024 campaign, unleashing a strike that curled into the top left corner of the net from roughly 30 yards out. Forwards Bendix Bennetzen and Jack Rhead each garnered an assist on the marker.
 
- 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).
 
- The 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 84-84-26 (.500). Overall in 14 seasons, Brooks is 106-96-35 (.521) as a head coach.
 
- A total of 11 Dukes have registered a point through the first nine games of the 2024 season, with senior forward Maxi Hopfer owning a team-high 10 thanks to four goals and two assists. Hopfer is tied for fifth in the Atlantic 10 in points with Marek Gonda of George Mason.
 
- 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 to Rooney Field after taking on the Billikens Saturday, hosting Rhode Island Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 7:00 p.m.
 
Scouting the Billikens – Located in St. Louis, Mo. … SLU enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 3-2-4 (.556), including a 1-0-1 (.750) mark in the Atlantic 10 … Saturday's match concludes a three-match homestand for the Billikens that began with a 2-1 win over Loyola Chicago (Sept. 28) … In its last outing Oct. 1, 2024, Saint Louis played to a scoreless draw with No. 9 Charlotte … Senior forward Luis Lara owns a team-high eight points for the Billikens thanks to four goals, while senior forward Seth Anderson has tallied a team-high four assists … Lara notched the eventual game-winning goal against the Ramblers, as his marker at 25:10 gave SLU a 2-0 lead … In his seventh year leading Saint Louis is Kevin Kalish, who has compiled an overall record of 64-28-23 (.657) on the sidelines for the Billikens … Saturday's meeting is the first between SLU and Duquesne since 2021, a 2-1 win for the Billikens in the final of the 2021 Atlantic 10 Championship … Saint Louis leads the all-time series, 13-1-1 (.900) … The lone win for the Dukes in the all-time series occurred during the 2021 spring season, a 1-0 victory in two overtimes at Rooney Field March 20, 2021 … In that win forward Maxi Hopfer scored in the 107th minute to propel Duquesne over Saint Louis.  
 
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 produced game-winning goals in three consecutive games and enters Saturday's game at Saint Louis with career totals of 22 goals, 12 assists and 56 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 11 shots this season, eight of which have been on goal, a shot on goal percentage of 72.7 percent, and has scored goals on half the shots that have come on target.
 
The End Game – Behind a solid defense is a solid goalkeeper, and senior Zoltan Nagy has been rock for Duquesne this season. Nagy ranks second in the Atlantic 10 lead in saves (33), third in save percentage (.805), fourth in goals against average (0.94) and saves per game (3.67) and is tied for fifth in shutouts with three. Nagy has anchored a defense for the Dukes that has allowed just eight goals this season, which is tied for second in the Atlantic 10 with Dayton and Rhode Island. Only Saint Louis, which has allowed just six markers, sit ahead of Duquesne.
 
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.
 
A 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. Hopfer currently ranks seventh all-time for the Dukes in scoring with 56 points, just three points behind fourth in the Duquesne career record book. Steve Mellor, who scored 57 points from 2002 to 2005, ranks sixth, while David Gingrich (1999-2002) and Travis MacKenzie (2004-07) scored 59 and 58 points, respectively, during their careers. Hopfer's 22 career goals is tied for third in program history with Gingrich.
 
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