Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's soccer team returned to action for the first time in two weeks Saturday, earning a 1-0 victory over Rhode Island in its Atlantic 10 opener at Rooney Field. The Dukes improved to 4-0-2 (.833) overall during the 2026 season and are unbeaten through their first six games for the second consecutive year.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
The Dukes were able to crack the scoreboard for the only goal of the contest less than five minutes into the second half. A chip pass from redshirt freshman
Steel Bayer found junior
Miles Imparato, who provided some fancy footwork before dishing it off to redshirt junior
Chris Philibin, who was trailing on the play. Philibin laced a low cross into the box that just got past defender Luca Mueller of Rhode Island, and senior
Tyler Kato was waiting on the far side. He fired a shot that hit Mueller, bounced off goalkeeper William Synnedstvedt and trickled over the goal line into the net to give Duquesne a 1-0 edge at 48:18. Kato is the fifth member of the Dukes this season to score a goal, while a total of 13 players have registered on the scoresheet in six games with Philibin picking up the assist.
QUOTABLE
"As I just told them in the circle, every win is a good win in the A10," head coach
Chase Brooks said. "Ultimately the guys just performed, they sacrificed everything they could to help get us the win, and that's what it takes at this level. What we talked about at halftime, they executed really well. Ultimately in the right place at the right time, putting the ball back in on frame and numbers in the box. All good things that we want to see on the field. Right now for us it's about continuing to take little steps along the way and pay attention to the details."
💯
The victory for Duquesne in its 2026 Atlantic 10 opener gave Brooks his 100th career victory on the Bluff. The program's all-time leader in coaching victories, Brooks is 100-93-31 (.516) in 14 seasons leading the Dukes and owns an overall record of 122-99-40 (.544) in 16 seasons as a head coach. The fact that the milestone win was decided in a one-goal game is apropos. Since the beginning of the 2021 campaign, Duquesne is 35-13 (.729) in games decided by a single goal, including 20-5 (.800) during that stretch at Rooney Field.
QUOTABLE
"It says our culture is in a good spot," Brooks said. "It doesn't matter who is on the field, they're going to give everything they have to the badge, and they're going to sacrifice whatever they can for this place. That's a nice place to be."
NOTES
Senior
Sam Coss earned his fourth consecutive clean sheet to open the year in games played at Rooney Field by finishing with six saves … Included among the saves for Coss was one at point-blank range at 88:24 as URI hunted for the equalizer … In four home games, Coss has posted 14 saves (3.50 per contest) … Defenders
Blaize Hardy and
Alex Posada each played a full 90 minutes … Rhode Island (2-6-0 | 0-1-0 Atlantic 10) outshot Duquesne, 13-12, including a 7-6 advantage in shots on target … The Dukes, meanwhile, owned a 4-1 cushion in corner kicks … Redshirt senior
Jaxon Ervin posted a pair of shots, both of which were on frame.
UP NEXT
The Dukes head on the road for their next three games, beginning by returning to non-conference play Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 7:00 p.m. against West Virginia in Morgantown, W. Va., at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
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