GAME 2
Robert Morris (0-0-1) vs. Duquesne (1-0-0)
Sunday, August 24 | 5:00 p.m.
Rooney Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
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From The Pitch
 
- The Duquesne University men's soccer team concludes a two-game homestand at Rooney Field to open its 2025 season Sunday with a 5:00 p.m. match against Robert Morris.
 
- The Dukes christened their 2025 campaign with a 3-0 victory over Seton Hill (8/21). Duquesne improved to 16-12-3 (.565) all-time in season openers with the win.
 
- For the second consecutive year a true freshman scored the first goal of the season, as rookie Hákon Dagur Matthíasson got the Dukes on the board at 9:49 to open the scoring against the Griffins.
 
- Duquesne also got a goal in the first half from redshirt junior Jaxon Ervin in the win over Seton Hill, while junior midfielder Tyler Kato, a transfer from Air Force, capped the scoring in the second half for the final margin.
 
- The Dukes are led by head coach Chase Brooks, who is in his 13th season leading the program in 2025. Brooks has compiled an overall record of 89-87-27 (.506) at Duquesne and is the program's all-time leader in coaching victories. In his 15th year as a head coach overall, Brooks has posted a career mark of 111-93-36 (.538).
 
- A total of seven starters return from 2024, including redshirt junior midfielder Jaxon Ervin and senior forward Dakota Jonke. Ervin finished second for the Dukes last season in scoring with 10 points courtesy of three goals and four assists, while Jonke posted a pair of goals and a pair of assists for six points.
 
- The Dukes should also be bolstered by the return of senior Ashton Jell and sophomore midfielder Bendix Bennetzen, who combined for 11 points last season with three goals and three assists. Both Jell and Bennetzen started all 17 games for Duquesne a year ago.
 
- Bennetzen was named to the 2024 All-Atlantic 10 Rookie Team after logging 1,389 minutes last season and tallying four points courtesy of a goal and two assists.
 
- Ervin was one of two Dukes named to the 2024 Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team. A supply chain management major who has maintained a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.92, Ervin was also named to the 2024 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® Team.
 
- Also earning a spot on the 2024 CSC Academic All-District® Team was Jell, who as a marketing major has maintained a 3.95 cumulative GPA. Jell was also honored with the 2025 Leadership Award at the Dukes Awards Show in April.
 
- Duquesne established a new program record last season with 11 consecutive wins at Rooney Field as well as its eight victories at home in 2024. Despite a 3-0 setback to Fordham (11/9/24) in the Atlantic 10 Championship, the Dukes own a mark of 27-4-5 (.819) at Rooney Field since the beginning of the 2021 campaign.
 
- Duquesne heads on the road for its next three games after taking on the Colonials, beginning Saturday, August 30, with a 1:00 p.m. match at Canisius. The Dukes will also travel to Syracuse (9/5) and Mount St. Mary's (9/9) as part of their road trip.
 
Scouting the Colonials – Located in Moon Township, Pa. … Member of the Horizon League … RMU opened its 2025 season with a scoreless draw at Mercyhurst (8/21) … Robert Morris finished with an overall mark of 9-7-3 (.553) last season, including a ledger of 4-3-2 (.556) in the Horizon League … The Colonials won the 2024 Horizon League Tournament and earned their first automatic bid to the NCAA Championship since 2005 … Duquesne leads the all-time series with RMU, 19-7-3 (.707), but had a five-game wining streak in the series snapped last year with a 3-0 setback at the North Athletic Complex … In his third season leading the Colonials is Jonathan Potter, a native of Winston-Salem, N.C., who spent seven years as the head coach at Presbyterian prior to taking over at Robert Morris.
 
Instant Impact – In addition to collecting the first goal of the 2025 season for Duquesne, freshman midfielder Hákon Dagur Matthíasson set up the second goal of the contest in a 3-0 win over Seton Hill (8/21) at Rooney Field. He fed redshirt junior Jaxon Ervin, who sliced one into the net at 27:21 to give the Dukes a 2-0 cushion. Ervin is Duquesne's active career points leader with 14 points thanks to four goals and six assists, and the Dukes are a perfect 4-0 when he scores a goal since the beginning of the 2024 campaign.
 
Instant Impact Part Deux – While true freshman Hákon Dagur Matthíasson gave the Dukes a lift in his first NCAA Division I game in a 3-1 win over Seton Hill (8/21), Duquesne also got a boost from one of its transfers. Junior midfielder Tyler Kato, who spent his first two seasons at Air Force, capped the win over the Griffins with some nifty footwork and his first goal on the Bluff. Kato beat a defender one-on-one before faking a shot with his right foot and burying the third goal of the contest with his left at 84:12. It marked the first career NCAA goal for Kato.
 
Full Bore – A number of Dukes saw considerable action in their first game at Duquesne in the 2025 season opener against Seton Hill (8/21), none more so than freshman defender Alex Posada. In his NCAA Division I debut, Posada was the only member of the Dukes to log a full 90 minutes. He was a key part of a defense that allowed just three shots by the Griffins and helped keep the box clean for redshirt senior goalkeeper Diego Chavez, who was also making his first start at Duquesne. Chavez notched his first clean sheet on the Bluff with a pair of saves in the 3-0 win over Seton Hill as well as the 13th of his NCAA career. Chavez, a transfer from NCAA Division II Colorado Mesa, recorded 12 shutouts in three seasons with the Mavericks.
 
One – Since the beginning of the 2021 campaign, the Dukes own a record of 30-9 (.769) in one-goal matches after posting a record of 8-1 (.889) last year. Included in that stretch is a 18-3 (.857) record in such games at Rooney Field and a 12-6 (.667) mark on the road.
 
Defense Wins Championships – Playing close games means having a stout defense, something Duquesne excelled at last season. The Dukes finished the 2024 campaign ranked fourth in NCAA Division I in save percentage, finishing at .823 thanks to yielding just 17 goals while notching 79 saves. It's the second time in the last three years Duquesne has finished in the top five in the category, as in 2022 the Dukes also finished fourth in save percentage (.835), also allowing just 17 goals while recording 86 saves.
 
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