Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's soccer team continued a three-game homestand to open its 2026 season Sunday, earning a 3-0 victory over Bowling Green at Rooney Field. The Dukes improved to 1-0-1 (.750) overall thanks to the win.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
An open style of play through the majority of the 90 minutes, the contest featured a combined 42 shots between the Dukes and Falcons. The game remained scoreless until late, when Duquesne broke through. BGSU almost scored thanks to pressure before the Dukes were able to clear. Racing down the midfield, redshirt senior
Jaxon Ervin found his classmate,
Sergios Feneridis, on the far side. Feneridis poked it toward the front of the net, and redshirt sophomore
Jameson Michel was in the perfect spot, tapping the ball into the net to give Duquesne a 1-0 edge at 75:54. The stalemate broken, the Dukes wasted no time adding another score. This time it was
Marko Rasmussen, who took control of the ball at midfield and raced down the far side before slicing the ball into the net 17 seconds later to push the advantage to 2-0.
QUOTABLE
"The guys are working hard and doing the little things the right way," head coach
Chase Brooks said. "You can have a bend but don't break mentality, and I think we showed that a little bit today. It was probably more transitional that we wanted it to be overall, but that's an excellent team. They press well, and once we sorted out the tactics, you saw things open up in the second half. We have six attackers on our team, in particular, that are really strong and really dangerous. It's trusting the process and keeping it moving forward. I commend the guys for putting it in the back of the net today."
SEALING THE DEAL
Rasmussen would cap the scoring in the contest and seal the victory for Duquesne at 82:05. Off a throw-in from
Steel Bayer, a header stayed in front of the net before BGSU (1-1-0) tried to clear. Rasmussen was in perfect position and in one motion took the clear and fired it past Enzo Gil of the Falcons to push the lead to 3-0. Rasmussen entered the 2026 season with a pair of goals in 26 career games on five shots on net, and he matched that goal total Sunday against Bowling Green. Rasmussen also tied for team-high honors with four shots against the Falcons, joining Michel and senior
Roni Badler. Three of the four shots for Rasmussen were on goal.
QUOTABLE
"Marko has been a guy that we've tried to get on the field in the last few years, and I think things have finally clicked for him," Brooks said. "We've got the ability to find him in open areas, and when that happens, like you saw today, good things can happen."
BEDROCK
While the late offensive flurry proved to be the difference for Duquesne, senior
Sam Coss was again stellar on the defensive end. He faced 17 shots from the Falcons, recorded five saves and in the process collected his second consecutive clean sheet. Coss is the first goalkeeper for the Dukes to open the year with consecutive shutouts since Domenic Nascimben in 2022. Nascimben combined for seven saves in the first two games that season, a 1-0 triumph at Michigan (8/25/22) and another 1-0 victory on the road, this time against Canisius (8/28/22). Coss, meanwhile, also owns seven saves through the first two games of 2026.
UP NEXT
The Dukes welcome Mount St. Mary's Thursday, August 24, in the first game of a soccer doubleheader at Rooney Field to wrap up their three-game homestand. Duquesne and the Mount will square off at 4:00 p.m. before the women's team hosts Akron for its 2026 home opener.
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