Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's soccer team opened its 31st season of NCAA Division I soccer Thursday with a 3-0 victory over Seton Hill at Rooney Field for its 2025 season opener.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
For the second consecutive season, a true freshman netted the first goal of the year for the Dukes. Less than 10 minutes into the contest, a scurry in front of the net saw freshman
Hákon Dagur Matthíasson corral the loose ball. He flicked the ball to the right side, with Seton Hill goalkeeper Jannik Reiss unsuccessfully diving to try and stop the ball as it trickled into the goal for the first score of the campaign. Last season, also against the Griffins, the first goal of the year came from forward
Marko Rasmussen, also a true freshman at the time.
BIRTHDAY GOALS
Matthíasson was in the middle of the second goal of the game for Duquesne, as well. Dribbling down the middle of the field, he fed redshirt junior forward
Jaxon Ervin, who lifted a shot that found the upper left corner of the goal and gave the Dukes a 2-0 edge at 27:21. Ervin, the program's active leading scorer entering the 2025 season with 12 points, celebrated his 22nd birthday Thursday in Duquesne's season opener with his fourth career marker.
QUOTABLE
"I think we controlled the game pretty much from start to finish," head coach
Chase Brooks said. "A great learning experience overall. We were able to create a lot in the attacking third, and to put a few away is great. Coming into the season we have a lot of goals to replace, and so it was nice to see a few guys bag their first goals of the season. It was 90 minutes of learning, 90 minutes of growing and moving forward."
WATER (WINTER) WONDERLAND
While a rookie got the Dukes on the board first, a transfer helped Duquesne seal the victory in the second half. Junior midfielder
Tyler Kato, a native of Ann Arbor, Mich., and a transfer from Air Force, provided some nifty foot work to put an exclamation on the win. He dribbled past a defender and went one-on-one with Reiss on the right side of the net. Faking a shot with his right foot, Kato switched to his left and buried his first goal for the Dukes to settle the final score.
QUOTABLE
"It was nice to get a good run out, get a lot of guys minutes, really stretch ourselves and see what we're made of against somebody else when it matters," Brooks said. "People are going to be counted on this year. We need everybody on this roster. Your dream is everybody is healthy and pushing in the right direction. You look at our entire leadership council, and they've all done a fantastic job. That's part of our recruiting philosophy. We want leaders and high-character individuals. I think that shows top to bottom."
NOTES
Duquesne held a commanding lead in shots, 25-3, including 9-2 in shots on goal … Redshirt senior goalkeeper
Diego Chavez earned the start in the 2025 season opener and notched the clean sheet, posting a pair of saves … Also earning the start as a true freshman was defender
Alex Posada, who was the only member of the Dukes to play all 90 minutes … A total of 21 players saw action for Duquesne, with Rasmussen logging the most minutes by a reserve with 36 … Jaxon finished with a team-high four shots, three of which were on goal … Duquesne improved to 16-12-3 (.565) all-time in season openers, including 7-4-2 (.615) under Brooks … Both the Duquesne men's and
women's programs produced 3-0 victories as part of the soccer doubleheader at Rooney Field Thursday, combining to outshoot its opponents, 54-7.
UP NEXT
Duquesne concludes a two-game homestand to open its 2025 season Sunday, August 24, with a 5:00 p.m. match against Robert Morris at Rooney Field.
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