GAME 3
Duquesne (1-0-1) at Canisius (1-1-0)
Saturday, August 30 | 1:00 p.m.
Demske Sports Complex | Buffalo, N.Y.
 
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From The Pitch
 
- The Duquesne University men's soccer team opens a three-game road trip Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. tilt against Canisius in Buffalo, N.Y., at Demske Sports Complex. The Dukes will also visit Syracuse (Sept. 5) and Mount St. Mary's (Sept. 9) during their swing.
 
- Opening its 2025 season with a two-game homestand, Duquesne closed the stretch at Rooney Field by erasing a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 tie with Robert Morris (8/24) in its last outing.
 
- Senior forward Dakota Jonke helped the Dukes get on the board against the Colonials, scoring on a free kick at 33:52 to trim the deficit for Duquesne in half, 2-1, entering halftime.
 
- The Dukes outshot RMU, 11-1, in the second half and got the equalizer at 79:26, as junior Mathieu Brick fed sophomore forward Roni Badler, who capitalized and tied the contest, 2-2.
 
- Duquesne christened its 2025 campaign with a 3-0 victory over Seton Hill (8/21) at Rooney Field. The Dukes 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 89-87-28 (.505) 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 mark of 111-93-37 (.537).
 
- 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 27-4-6 (.811) at Rooney Field since the beginning of the 2021 campaign.
 
Scouting the Golden Griffins – Located in Buffalo, N.Y. … Member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) … Opened its 2025 season with a 3-0 victory at VMI (8/21) before suffering a 2-0 loss at Virginia Tech (8/24) … Saturday's contest marks the 2025 home opener for Canisius … Duquesne leads the all-time series with the Golden Griffins, 8-4 (.667), after a 3-1 victory at Rooney Field (8/25/24) last season … In the contest last year, forward Roni Badler snapped a 1-1 tie in the second half with his first career goal at the NCAA Division I level at 55:23 … In the last meeting between the two programs in Buffalo, N.Y., Duquesne earned a 1-0 victory at Demske Sports Complex (8/28/22), with former forward Tate Mohney (2022-24) snapping a scoreless game with the game winner at 61:24 … Freshman forwad Noah Baumslag leads Canisius in scoring in the early going of the 2025 season with three points courtesy of a goal and an assist … In his fourth season leading the Golden Griffins is Michael Tanke (Rhode Island '11), who was named the 15th head coach in program history in February of 2022.
 
Start Me Up – Earning his first start of the 2025 season as well as the second of his career in a 2-2 draw with Robert Morris (8/24) was sophomore forward Roni Badler, who provided the equalizer at 79:26 to settle the final score. Thanks to the goal, the five goals for Duquesne so far this season have been scored by five different players. Seven different Dukes have registered on the scoresheet through the first two games of the year, with senior forward Dakota Jonke, who is tied with freshman forward Hákon Dagur Matthíasson for the team lead in scoring with three points, owning a team-high seven shots, three of which have come on goal. Redshirt junior forward Jaxon Ervin also owns three shots on goal and six overall.
 
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 in a game 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 3-0 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. Posada was also one of four Dukes to play the entire game in a 2-2 draw with Robert Morris (8/24), joining midfielders Bendix Bennetzen and Grant McIntosh and fellow backline mate Blaize Hardy. Posada is the only field player through the first two games of the year to have seen action in all 180 minutes.
 
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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