GAME 10
Dayton (6-2-3 | 0-1-2 Atlantic 10) vs. Duquesne (5-2-2 | 2-1-0 Atlantic 10)
Saturday, Oct. 10 | 7:00 p.m.
Rooney Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
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From The Pitch
 
- The Duquesne University men's soccer team returns to Rooney Field Saturday at 7:00 p.m. to host Dayton as part of Homecoming festivities on the Bluff. In addition, the tilt against the Flyers is part of Alumni Weekend for the program.
 
- The Dukes enter Saturday's game coming off a 2-1 victory at George Mason (10/3). Duquesne scored twice in the final 15 minutes to secure the come-from-behind win.
 
- Garnering the equalizer for Duquesne in the win over the Patriots was redshirt senior Ashwin Menon, who collected his first goal of the year at 76:46 on a feed from sophomore Jameson Michel. Less than 10 minutes later, a sliding Ofek Sasson connected on a pass from Roni Badler and found the back of the net at 87:27 to propel the Dukes to victory. It marked the first NCAA Division I goal for the junior.
 
- Duquesne opened its Atlantic 10 schedule with a 1-0 victory over Rhode Island (9/19) at Rooney Field in its last home game. The Dukes garnered the only score of the contest early in the second half when Tyler Kato collected his first goal of the year at 48:18.
 
- Redshirt senior goalkeeper Sam Coss preserved the shutout in the win over the Rams by matching a career high with six saves, including one at point-blank range with under two minutes to play. Coss has yet to allow a goal in four games this season at Rooney Field.
 
- For his efforts in the win over the Rams, Sam Coss was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week (9/21). It marked his second such honor of the 2026 campaign.
 
- The win over URI gave head coach Chase Brooks his 100th career victory on the Bluff.
 
- Redshirt senior Jaxon Ervin is the active leading scorer at Duquesne with 26 points courtesy of eight goals and 10 assists. He has started 42 of his 52 career games on the Bluff over the last four seasons.
 
- The Dukes are led by head coach Chase Brooks, who is in his 14th season leading the program in 2026. Brooks has compiled an overall record of 101-95-31 (.513) at Duquesne and is the program's all-time leader in coaching victories. In his 16th year as a head coach overall, Brooks has posted a mark of 123-101-40 (.542).
 
- Duquesne established a new program record with 11 consecutive wins at Rooney Field over the course of the 2023 and 2024 seasons, while its eight victories at home in 2024 is a school record. The Dukes own a mark of 34-6-7 (.798) at Rooney Field since the beginning of the 2021 campaign.
 
- Duquesne heads across town to face No. 10 Pitt Tuesday, Oct. 13, before returning to Atlantic 10 play Saturday, Oct. 17, against Davidson at 7:00 p.m. at Rooney Field.
 
Scouting the Flyers – Located in Dayton, Ohio … The Flyers have compiled an overall record of 6-2-3 (.682) entering Saturday's contest, including an 0-1-2 (.333) ledger in the Atlantic 10 … UD is coming off a 4-3 loss at home to VCU (10/3), with the Rams scoring twice in 37 seconds to snap a 2-2 tie … Senior Cooper Lijewski owns a team-high 17 points for Dayton courtesy of seven goals and three assists … Of the seven goals for Lijewski, three are game winners … Senior Braden Seel has contributed four goals and four assists (12 points), while junior Pablo Martinez has collected three goals and five assists (11 points) … In his 22nd season as head coach of the Flyers is Dennis Currier (Southern Mississippi '92), who has compiled a record of 208-127-72 (.600) during his tenure at Dayton … Saturday marks the 25th meeting in the all-time series between UD and DU, with the Flyers leading, 16-7-1 (.688) … Duquesne and Dayton haven't met on the pitch since Oct. 30, 2021, a 4-3 overtime win for the Flyers in Dayton, Ohio.
 
Defensively Speaking – Duquesne returns home to Rooney Field Saturday owning one of the stoutest defensive units in the country this season. The goals against average of 0.56 for the Dukes ranks fourth in NCAA Division I, while in save percentage Duquesne sits fifth (.857). The only programs better across the country in goals against average are SMU (0.30) out of the ACC, Xavier (0.40) from the Big East and Princeton (0.55) out of the Ivy League. The fulcrum for the Duquesne defensive has been redshirt senior goalkeeper Sam Coss, a two-time Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week who has played all 810 minutes for the Dukes and sits seventh in NCAA Division I in goals against average (0.56) and 12th in save percentage (.844).
 
Level Up – Senior Ashwin Menon and junior Ofek Sasson each found the back of the net in a 2-1 victory at George Mason (10/3), with the goal for Menon the third of his career on the Bluff and the strike for Sasson the first of his NCAA Division I career. Despite the program's active leader in scoring, redshirt senior Jaxon Ervin, having yet to score a goal this season, Duquesne has had seven different student-athletes convert this year. The Dukes have also had 15 different players register on the scoresheet through nine games. The aforementioned Ervin owns a pair of assists along with junior midfielder Miles Imparato and are among nine players this season to have scored at least two points.
 
All In The Family – Looking to add to the lineage as a scorer on the Bluff has been forward Cody Da, who picked up his second goal of the year in a 2-1 victory at Detroit Mercy (9/5). Da is the younger brother of former forward Jayden Da (2021-23), who in three seasons with the Dukes compiled 20 career points thanks to eight goals and four assists. The elder Da appeared in 46 career matches at Duquesne and was named to the 2023 Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team after a campaign in which he finished with seven goals and three assists for 17 points. Jayden Da was also the first student-athlete in program history to be selected in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft, presented by Adidas, when he was selected by the Columbus Crew with the 29th pick in 2023.
 
Tip of the Cap – Thanks to the performances for Duquesne in its first two games of the year, a pair of student-athletes garnered weekly honors from the Atlantic 10. Junior forward Marko Rasmussen was selected as A10 Offensive Player of the Week (8/24), while redshirt senior goalkeeper Sam Coss was named the A10 Defensive Player of the Week (8/24). Rasmussen scored a pair of goals in the win over Bowling Green (8/23) after entering this season with two goals in 26 career games on the Bluff. Coss, meanwhile, earned a pair of clean sheets in the first two games of the year, becoming the first Duquesne goalkeeper to turn the trick since 2022. Coss owns 23 saves through the first eight games of 2026.
 
One – Since the beginning of the 2021 campaign, the Dukes own a record of 36-15 (.706) in one-goal matches. Included in that stretch is a 20-5 (.800) record in such games at Rooney Field and a 16-10 (.615) mark on the road. Each of the last five games for Duquesne entering Saturday's tilt against Dayton have been one-goal affairs, with the Dukes 3-2 (.600) during that stretch.
 
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