GAME 11
Rhode Island (7-1-3 | 2-1-0 Atlantic 10) vs. Duquesne (7-2-1 | 2-1-0 Atlantic 10)
Wednesday, Oct. 9 | 7:00 p.m.
Rooney Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
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From The Pitch
 
- The Duquesne University men's soccer team returns home to Rooney Field Wednesday for a key Atlantic 10 match at 7:00 p.m. against Rhode Island.
 
- The Dukes dropped their first Atlantic 10 game of the 2024 season in their last outing, falling at Saint Louis, 3-0. Duquesne managed just one shot in the contest.
 
- The Dukes are 5-0 at home this season thanks to a 2-1 victory over Saint Joseph's at Rooney Field. 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 Marek Gonda of George Mason, and the game-winning marker against the Hawks was 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 84-85-26 (.497). Overall in 14 seasons, Brooks is 106-97-35 (.519) as a head coach.
 
- A total of 11 Dukes have registered a point through the first 10 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 seventh in the Atlantic 10 in points with Luis Lara of Saint Louis.
 
- 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 travels to George Mason after hosting the Rams Wednesday with a 7:00 p.m. match in Fairfax, Va., at George Mason Stadium.
 
Scouting the Rams – Located in Kingston, R.I. … URI has compiled an overall mark of 7-1-3 (.773) during the 2024 season, including a 2-1-0 (.667) mark in the Atlantic 10 … Since opening conference play with a 2-0 loss at VCU (Sept. 20), the Rams own an A-10 home win over St. Bonaventure (Sept. 28), 4-3, and a road victory at Loyola Chicago (Oct. 5), 1-0 … Rhode Island leading scorer Íñigo Etxegarai owns eight points thanks to three goals and two assists, with all three of his markers coming in the last two Atlantic 10 matches … Etxegarai scored the lone goal in the win over the Ramblers and produced a brace against the Bonnies … URI is led by Gareth Elliott, who is in his 12th season as head coach and owns an overall record of 144-111-39 (.556), including 102-71-30 (.576) with the Rams … Wednesday marks the 26th meeting between Duquesne and Rhode Island, with the Dukes owning a 16-9 (.640) edge in the all-time series … Wednesday marks the first game in the regular season between the two programs since 2018, a 3-1 win for Duquesne on Senior Day when Rhode Island was ranked No. 23 in the country … The victory was the first for the Dukes against a nationally ranked opponent … In the last meeting between the two programs, Duquesne secured a 2-1 win over URI at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Mo., to earn a berth in the 2021 Atlantic 10 Championship final.
  
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 the last three game-winning goals for Duquesne enters Wednesday's game against Rhode Island 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.
 
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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