Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's soccer team clinched a home game in the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Fordham at Rooney Field. Despite having its 11-game winning streak at home snapped, the Dukes finished their home slate unbeaten during the regular season at 8-0-1 (.944) and will carry an overall mark of 11-3-2 (.750) into the postseason. Duquesne finished in a tie for third place in the Atlantic 10 with Massachusetts thanks to a record of 5-2-1 (.688).
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
The Rams grabbed the lead, 1-0, at 35:14, as Luke Pompliano scored on a header. Fordham came on the attack and Daniel D'Ippolito dribbled in a circle trying to get around a Duquesne defender before lifting one into the box. A number of Rams crashed, with Pompliano being the recipient and heading the ball into the net for his third goal of the 2024 season. It was the only shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes for Fordham (7-4-5 | 4-1-3 Atlantic 10), with the Rams owning an 8-7 edge in shots overall in the first half.
SENIOR MOMENT
On a night when Duquesne honored eight student-athletes prior to the game for Senior Day, three of them came up big in helping the Dukes get the equalizer. Duquesne was awarded a corner kick, and senior forward
Maxi Hopfer fired on to the opposite side of the box. Graduate student
Jack Rhead just got his head on the ball to redirect it to senior
Christoffer Vie Angell, who played the ball off his body before ripping one past Fordham goalkeeper Alex Dolce at 79:03 to tie the match, 1-1. The Rams had multiple opportunities in the final 10 minutes to try and grab the lead back, getting three shots off, but a pair were turned away by the Duquesne defense while another was blocked.
QUOTABLE
"We knew the energy was going to be there because we have great leadership within this group," head coach
Chase Brooks said. "Nothing is more fun than going out and representing ourselves in the right way, and the rest was up to the leadership. They did a great job. The belief on this field is through the roof. If you can put guys in good situations and the belief is there, good things can happen."
SENIOR CLASS
For Vie Angell, the goal marked his first of the 2024 campaign, the fifth of his career on the Bluff and his first in 30 games. Vie Angell last found the back of the net in a 5-1 win at Virginia Tech (August 27) in the second game of the 2023 season, a goal that tied the match, 1-1, before the Dukes exploded for four goals in the final 45 minutes. The score proved to be huge for Duquesne, as the tie secured a home game in the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship as the Rams, which finished in a tie for fifth with Saint Louis, will return to Rooney Field next Saturday for the quarterfinals of the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship.
QUOTABLE
"The opportunity to stay home, get a first-round game and really give everything we've got to it, it's what we were hoping for," Brooks said. "For us tonight it was just about getting that final shot. That ball over the line. Fordham is obviously a great defensive team and a very good team overall, but the guys believed. They kept pushing."
NOTES
Vie Angell has started each of the 49 career games he has appeared in at Duquesne, with the quarterfinals of the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship marking his 50th match on the Bluff … The assist for Hopfer gives him a team-high 19 points on the 2024 season thanks to seven goals and five assists … Rhead picked up his second assist of the year for the Dukes … In addition to Vie Angell, Hopfer and Rhead, Duquesne also honored seniors
Jack Emanuel,
Jesper Moksnes,
Zoltan Nagy,
Ali Nasser and
Kiril Smirnov before the match … Moksnes played a full 90 minutes yet again and has played 1,440 out of a possible 1,440 minutes for the Dukes this season … Emanuel and Nasser each came off the bench for Duquesne, combining to contribute 22 minutes of action … Nagy posted three saves … Fordham finished with a 15-13 advantage in shots, including a 6-2 cushion in shots on target.
UP NEXT
In a case of déjà vu, Duquesne will host Fordham at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, for the quarterfinals of the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship at Rooney Field. It marks the last game of the quarterfinals, as No. 1 George Mason will entertain No. 8 La Salle and No. 2 Dayton hosts No. 7 Davidson Friday, Nov. 8, with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff for both matches. Massachusetts, the No. 3 seed, will take on No. 6 Saint Louis Saturday, Nov. 9, at 1:00 p.m.
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