Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's soccer team returned to Atlantic 10 action Saturday at Rooney Field, earning a 2-1 victory over Saint Joseph's. The Dukes extended their home winning streak dating to last season to eight, their longest since setting a school record with 10 straight in 2005, and improved to 7-1-1 (.833) overall in 2024, including 2-0 in conference play.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Again scoreless through the opening 45 minutes, the Dukes were able to get on the board at 51:17 courtesy of forward
Jack Rhead. Saint Joseph's (2-7-0 | 0-2-0 Atlantic 10) was looking to set up its attack at midfield when Rhead stepped in front of a pass, intercepted the ball and began a footrace the other way. Rhead was able to capitalize, registering his first goal on the Bluff with a shot that got past SJU goalkeeper Lars Haavie and found the back right corner of the net to give Duquesne a 1-0 lead. The marker set off a celebration from the section of alumni in the stands, with Rhead and his teammates going over to join in the festivities in front of the group.
QUOTABLE
"(Rhead's) been due one of those for a couple of weeks now," head coach
Chase Brooks said. "It was really nice to see him get off the mark tonight. He's peaking at the right time for us, which is great. He's a handful. He's a big boy that is mobile, and if he can be that true goal threat that we know he can be, that adds a whole other element."
FINDING A WAY
Maxi Hopfer was inserted into the lineup in the second half, and the alumni section again got vocal, this time putting together a chant for the senior forward. Hopfer promptly gave the alums something to cheer about, as he took a long pass from junior midfielder
Grant McIntosh, got past a defender and flipped one into the net to score a goal for the third consecutive match. The marker proved to be a big one, as the Hawks were able to cut their deficit in half by scoring with under five minutes to play as Blake Driehuis scored at 86:43. For Hopfer, each of his goals in the last three games are of the game-winning variety, pushing his career total in the category to 10 and matching a Duquesne program record. David Gingrich (1999-2002) originally set the standard with 10 game-winning goals, which was matched by Damien Pottinger (2000-03) during his career on the Bluff.
QUOTABLE
"It's continuing to build the momentum that we need this time of year," Brooks said. "Like we've talked about in the past, it's just hard to get wins, especially in this conference. It was great to see the guys respond. They did a great job tonight. You have to control your controllables. Ultimately the guys did a pretty good job of that. We knew it was going to be a physical game. Every game is important. We just have to keep being us and execute what we do to the best of our ability. If we do that we have a chance in every game we play. Ultimately we used the momentum that the alums helped us with tonight, and we just kept moving forward."
NOTES
The eight consecutive wins for Duquesne at Rooney Field is tied for the second longest home winning streak in program history, as the Dukes won the final three at home in 2002 as well as the first five in 2003 … During the 2003 campaign Duquesne also opened the season 7-1-1 (.833) en route to an overall record of 13-3-3 (.763), including a mark of 8-2-1 (.773) in conference play and a share of the Atlantic 10 regular-season championship … The school record for consecutive home victories of 10 was set over the course of the 2004 and 2005 seasons, including the final four in 2004 and the opening six the following year … The Dukes won the A-10 regular-season crown outright in 2004 and shared the title in 2005 … Duquesne, which is 2-0 in the A-10 for the first time since 2021, owned a 14-10 edge in shots, including an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal … Senior goalkeeper
Zoltan Nagy posted a pair of saves in the victory.
UP NEXT
Duquesne is off for a week, taking to the road for its next contest Saturday, Oct. 5, at 8:00 p.m. at Saint Louis.
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