Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's soccer team continued a three-game road trip Friday and stayed unbeaten in the process, earning a 1-0 victory over Syracuse at SU Soccer Stadium. The Dukes improved to 3-0-1 (.875) overall on the 2025 season thanks to their first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) foe since defeating Virginia Tech in 2023.
 
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Duquesne took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself in the second half, scoring the only goal of the contest off the foot of freshman midfielder Hákon Dagur Matthíasson. The Orange were looking to clear when Matthíasson took advantage of a bad pass in the box, stepping up and firing a shot into the left of the net away from Syracuse goalkeeper Thomas Hut, who dove to try and stop the shot unsuccessfully. The marker rewarded redshirt senior goalkeeper Diego Chavez, who was masterful in net for the Dukes. Chavez notched a season-high nine saves as the Orange held a 17-4 cushion in shots, including a 9-4 edge in shots on goal. In a scoreless opening 45 minutes, Syracuse held a 10-2 advantage in shots, including 6-0 on net.

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"A good team performance is really what it comes down to," head coach Chase Brooks said. "Guys stuck to the game plan and worked hard. We knew were going to battle a team that was incredibly athletic. I give the guys all the credit in the world for sticking to their principles and sacrificing everything for the result. Everything we do now is about momentum and about learning who we are and where we want to go. That's what tonight and all these non-conference games are about. I think it's a testament to the group and something that's going to pay dividends down the road. The Atlantic 10 is no joke. It's one of the toughest conferences in the nation. We all know that. This is all about building momentum going into that portion of the season."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Chavez collected his third shutout of 2025 and has yielded just two goals in the first four games for Duquesne while registering 14 saves. The three clean sheets have allowed Chavez to post an 0.50 goals against average as the Dukes earned victories in each of their first two road games of a season since starting 3-0 on the road in 2022 with wins at Michigan (1-0), at Canisius (1-0) and at Robert Morris (2-1). In the final five minutes Friday against the Orange, the Duquesne defense stood tall as Syracuse searched for the equalizer, with Chavez registering a save, another shot was blocked in traffic and a third one sailed high of the net.

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(Diego) is just a quality goalkeeper and a quality human being," Brooks said. "I think it showed through tonight. His composure in tough moments in front of a big crowd. Give him a lot of credit, he stepped right in and filled some big shoes left by Zoltan Nagy, and he's done really well with his time."
 
FOUR ON THE FLOOR
Four games into the 2025 campaign and the Dukes have used four different starting lineups. Earning his first career start Friday at Syracuse was junior defender Mathieu Brick, who is the 15th different player to start a match for the Dukes through five games. Brick, a transfer from Clemson who appeared in one game last year for the Tigers, entered the year with just under four minutes of experience at the NCAA Division I level. He played 59 minutes Friday against the Orange and was a key piece to a backline that held Syracuse off the scoreboard. On the other end of the spectrum, the only two players to have started each of the last 21 games for Duquesne dating back to the beginning of the 2024 season is redshirt junior defender Ashwin Menon and sophomore midfielder Bendix Bennetzen. The active leader for career starts for the Dukes, meanwhile, is senior midfielder Grant McIntosh with 36.

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"(Hákon) just has an old head," Brooks said. "He's very level-headed and has good composure. To run onto the ball he ran onto tonight and still have the composure to slot it away with his weaker foot, it's a big moment, especially for a guy in his first few college games. It's just nice to see."
 
NOTES
Senior Ashton Jell returned to action after missing Duquesne's win at Canisius (8/30) and played 36 minutes as a reserve … Playing a full 90 minutes Friday for the Dukes were defender Blaize Hardy, Ofek Sasson and Alex Posada and McIntosh … Posada is the only Duquesne field player to see action in all 360 minutes this season … Also registering a shot on goal for the Dukes was redshirt junior midfielder Jaxon Ervin … Over the last four seasons Duquesne owns victories over Michigan (Big Ten), Virginia Tech (ACC) and Syracuse (ACC) as well as a 1-1 tie with Notre Dame (ACC) last year, a game in which the Fighting Irish were ranked No. 23 … Each of three shots for Michael Acquah in 31 minutes off the bench for Syracuse were on goal.
 
UP NEXT
Duquesne wraps up its three-game road trip Tuesday, Sept. 9, with a 5:00 p.m. match in Emmitsburg, Md., against Mount St. Mary's.
 
Photo: Courtesy of Syracuse Athletics

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