GAME 1
Lafayette (0-0) vs. Duquesne (0-0)
Thursday, August 20, 2026 | 3:00 p.m.
Rooney Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
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From The Pitch
 
- The Duquesne University men's soccer team opens its 2026 campaign Thursday with a 3:00 p.m. tilt against Lafayette at Rooney Field. The game against the Leopards is the first of a three-game homestand for the Dukes to open the year.
 
- Duquesne returns six starters from a 2025 squad that finished with an overall mark of 8-6-2 (.562), including a 2-6 (.250) ledger in the Atlantic 10. In a preseason poll of head coaches, the Dukes were picked to finish 10th in the conference in 2026.
 
- Included among the six returning starters for Duquesne is four of the top five scorers from 2025, including leading scorer Jaxon Ervin. A two-time member of the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team (2024, 2025), Ervin started all 16 games for the Dukes last year and finished with a team-high 12 points thanks to five goals and a pair of assists.
 
- Ervin is the active leading scorer at Duquesne with 24 points courtesy of eight goals and eight assists. He has started 33 of his 43 career games on the Bluff over the last three seasons.
 
- The Dukes have compiled a record of 16-12-3 (.565) all-time in season openers, including a mark of 7-4-2 (.615) under head coach Chase Brooks.
 
- Also returning as starters for the Dukes this season are midfielders Miles Imparato and Pepo Bravo and defenders Ashwin Menon, Luke Fiscus and Alex Posada. Imparato finished with seven points thanks to a pair of goals and three assists, while Bravo produced a team-high four assists in 2025.
 
- Menon and Posada join Ervin in having started all 16 games for Duquesne last season. Menon, who finished with six points a year ago, has started 33 consecutive games dating back to the beginning of the 2024 season, the longest active streak by a student-athlete for the Dukes. Posada, meanwhile, was tabbed to the 2025 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team and led the team in minutes played (1,414).
 
- 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 96-93-29 (.507) 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 118-99-38 (.537).
 
- 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 31-6-6 (.791) at Rooney Field since the beginning of the 2021 campaign.
 
Scouting the Leopards – Located in Easton, Pa. … Member of the Patriot League … Logged an overall record of 8-7-7 (.523) in 2025, including a mark of 3-2-4 (.556) in conference action … Lafayette earned a 1-0 win over No. 3 Army in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Patriot League Championship, defeated No. 1 seed American in the semifinals in overtime, 3-2, and dispatched No. 2 Lehigh in the final on penalty kicks, 4-1, after playing to a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes … In earning an automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Championship, the Leopards dropped a 4-0 decision at Cornell in the first round … Junior midfielder Cade Maglione earned a spot on the 2026 Preseason All-Patriot League Team … Dennis Bohn (Columbia '98) has been the head coach at Lafayette for 25 years and guided the Leopards to winning seasons in 18 of his 25 seasons on College Hill, four Patriot League championships and four berths in the NCAA Tournament … Bohn enters the 2026 campaign three wins shy of 200 for his career and with an overall record of 197-156-84 (.547) … The Dukes and Leopards have squared off twice previously, with the two programs having split the meetings … The last game between Duquesne and Lafayette saw the Dukes earn a 2-1 victory in overtime at Rooney Field Sept. 14, 2008, to win the 2008 DU Invitational … Just over a minute into overtime, Tyler Tompkins provided the game-winning goal on a feed from Stefan Lundberg.
 
Reserve Spark – In returning four of their top five scorers from last year, junior forward Roni Badler was a key contributor for the Dukes, mostly as a reserve. He played in 11 contests a year ago, including one start, and tied for second on the squad in goals (4) while ranking third in points (8). Owning one of the more lethal strikes in the lineup, 52.4 percent (11-of-21) of Badler's shots during the year were on frame. He led Duquesne in shots on goal and was one of seven players to produce a game-winning goal throughout the season. Badler has played 15 career games on the Bluff and owns five goals on 13 shots on net, including a pair of game winners.  
 
The Next Step – A key figure in the lineup as a rookie last season was Hákon Dagur Matthíasson, who scored a pair of goals while notching an assist for five points. Included among his strikes was the lone goal in a 1-0 victory at Syracuse that helped him earn Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors. Both of the times that Matthíasson found the back of the net last year wound up a game-winning goal. He also produced a goal and an assist in 55 minutes of the 2025 season opener, a 3-0 triumph over Seton Hill at Rooney Field.
 
One – Since the beginning of the 2021 campaign, the Dukes own a record of 33-13 (.717) in one-goal matches. Included in that stretch is a 19-5 (.792) record in such games at Rooney Field and a 14-8 (.636) mark on the road.
 
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