Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's soccer team wrapped up a three-game homestand at Rooney Field to open its 2026 season Thursday, earning a 2-0 victory over Mount St. Mary's. The Dukes improved to 2-0-1 (.833) overall thanks to the win.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Despite a scoreless opening 45 minutes, Duquesne was able to break through early in the second half. Junior midfielder
Miles Imparato provided a tap pass in front of the home bench to senior forward
Cody Da, who raced down the near sideline. As the defense for the Mount collapsed, Da used some fancy footwork to find space before firing a shot that found the far left corner of the goal to give the Dukes a 1-0 advantage. He provided a
flip during the celebration in collecting his first career strike on the Bluff. The score remained 1-0 until there was under a minute to play, when Duquesne went on the attack and had numbers. In a two-on-one break,
Jameson Michel dished to
Jaxon Ervin. Ervin stopped and passed it right back to Michel, who unleashed a rocket that got past Mount St. Mary's goalkeeper Ryan Collins and settled the final score.
QUOTABLE
"The guys did really well today," head coach
Chase Brooks said. "We didn't give up a ton of opportunities on our end of the field, which is nice to see. Ultimately, I thought we wore them down as the game wore on. It's a really good team result. The first 15 minutes were really solid. We adapted again the last 10 minutes of the first half, and then in the second half we played really well. Guys have to expect that they're going to get a chance, and the guys that came off the bench were ready today. It's vital. Division I soccer is survival of the fittest. You have to have a deep roster."
SEALED
Duquesne was able to put together a third consecutive shutout to open the year, the first time the Dukes have turned the trick since 2013. That year marked the first for Brooks as head coach on the Bluff as Duquesne opened that season with four straight shutouts. Thursday against Mount St. Mary's it was a team effort, as the defense allowed just six shots, one of which was on frame. The shot on target didn't come until 77:35, when Felix Alschner fired a laser that senior goalkeeper
Sam Coss jumped to poke away in collecting his lone save of the contest. The Dukes were aided by sophomore
Luke Fiscus, who logged 61 minutes and earned his first start of the 2026 campaign against the Mount.
QUOTABLE
"The guys are bought in," Brooks said. "They understand the method that we're looking for, our tactics and our principles. The best part about it is that they're willing to sacrifice for each other. We had a couple great blocks from the defenders in front of (Coss). A couple 40, 50, 60-yard sprints to get behind the ball. Those are the things we need from everybody. The energy is really positive, and now we're getting results together."
NOTES
One of the anchors on defense, sophomore
Alex Posada, logged a full 90 minutes for the third consecutive game to open the season … The goal for Michel was his second of the campaign, and each of his three shots were on goal … Duquesne also received three shots from junior forward
Marko Rasmussen and a team-high four from senior
Sergios Feneridis, who just missed collecting his first goal on the Bluff in the second half … A total of 20 Dukes saw action against the Mount, including the NCAA Division I debut for
Jack Karwoski, who played three minutes … Duquesne leads the all-time series with Mount St. Mary's, 2-0-1 (.833).
UP NEXT
Duquesne will hit the road for the first time during the 2026 season in its next outing, traveling to Moon Township, Pa., Sunday, August 30, for a 4:00 p.m. match against Robert Morris at the North Athletic Complex.
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