File photo courtesy Zac Weiss
No. 24 Duquesne University men’s soccer team matched a program record with its 10th consecutive home victory dating back to last season Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Davidson at Rooney Field.
In clinching a berth in the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship, the Dukes improved to 10-2-1 (.808) overall during the 2024 season and remain in a tie for first place in the conference standings with George Mason at 5-1 (.833).
Emblematic of the bend but don’t break mantra, senior goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy helped Duquesne stay perfect at home during the 2024 season, anchoring a defense in the second half that witnessed the Wildcats outshoot the Dukes, 11-0.
Nagy was more than up to the task, registering a pair of saves after halftime, including a key rejection at 83:30. Vincent Bennage unleashed a shot from deep just 45 seconds earlier that was high, and after the Davidson offense reset, Bennage got another look, this time from point blank range to the left of the goal, but Nagy picked up the save. Duquesne was credited with a team save early in the second half, also on a shot by Bennage, while a pair of other shots from the Wildcats in the final 45 minutes were blocked. In registering his fifth clean sheet of the 2024 season, Nagy finished with four saves to push his season total to 50 while lowering his goals against average on the year to 0.96.
“Davidson’s a tough team, and we knew that coming in,” head coach Chase Brooks said.
“I give both teams credit for battling, and I give our team credit for sticking one in the back of the net. This time of year, there’s not too many surprises. You are who you are. We knew they had good size and knew they would play fairly direct. There were so many blocked shots out there tonight. I think that’s a credit to our guys and our group. They understand the defensive effort that it takes. Ultimately, defense wins championships. We continue to put forth the effort that’s required.”
Playing at home for the first time since picking up his first career point in a Duquesne uniform in a 2-1 victory at No. 13 George Mason, redshirt sophomore Blaize Hardy scored his first career goal for the Dukes in the first half in the only score of the contest
The Dukes came out on the front foot at the start of the contest.
Junior midfielder Grant McIntosh, who took a feed from freshman midfielder Bendix Bennetzen, lifted a perfect ball into the box, and Hardy leapt into the air to produce a header that got past Davidson (4-5-4 | 3-3-0 Atlantic 10) goalkeeper Lucas Beltran at 10:48 and gave Duquesne a 1-0 edge.
“The first 20 minutes were a testament to who we are and intensity we play with,” @DuqMSoccer MF Grant McIntosh shares with @ZacharyMWeiss on coming out with an early goal in 1-0 win vs Davidsonhttps://t.co/a3Gl1Pasry
— Pittsburgh Soccer Now (@pghsoccernow) October 20, 2024
It marked the first career goal for Hardy on the NCAA pitch and was also the first goal in the opening 45 minutes of play for the Dukes in six matches. The last time Duquesne scored in the first half came in a 1-0 win at George Washington when senior forward Maxi Hopfer scored the only goal of the contest at 5:20.
“We knew (Hardy) was a high-character human being, that he was athletic and that he came from a great program,” Brooks said.
“Ultimately we knew there was ability there, but you really never know how much. He got his chance early in the season with an injury that happened, and he hasn’t looked back. He’s stepped in seamlessly. When you are high character and put team first, plus the skillset that he has, good things are going to happen. I think you saw that tonight.”
The 10-game winning streak for Duquesne at Rooney Field matches a school record that has stood for almost 20 years. The Dukes won their final four matches at home during the 2004 season before reeling off six consecutive wins at the venue to open the 2005 campaign. Duquesne is a perfect 7-0 at home this year after closing out the 2023 season with three straight victories at Rooney Field. Over the last 10 games at home, the Dukes have outscored their opponents, 23-9.
DUQ MSOC NOTES
- Duquesne improved to 9-5-2 (.625) all-time when ranked thanks to the win …
- The Dukes have reached 10 wins for the third time in the last four years as well as the ninth time overall in program history …
- Davidson finished with 20 shots in the contest, matching a season high by an Atlantic 10 opponent (Saint Louis) …
- Duquesne yielded a season-high 21 shots in a 1-1 draw at No. 23 Notre Dame …
- Each of the four shots for the Dukes came in the first half, including two from junior Ashton Jell …
- Jell, incidentally, was the last member of the Dukes to score in the first half at Rooney Field prior to Hardy’s marker Saturday, which came in a 1-0 win over Niagara back on Sept. 5 …
- Sophomore midfielder Mikey Morales logged a career-high 28 minutes off the bench …
- Senior defender Jesper Moksnes played a full 90 minutes and is a perfect 13-for-13 in the category so far during the 2024 season, playing 1,170 out of a possible 1,170 minutes …
- Moksnes has played a full 90 minutes in each of his last 15 matches dating to last year.
UP NEXT
Duquesne wraps up the non-conference portion of its 2024 season Tuesday, Oct. 22, with a 6:00 p.m. match against Northern Kentucky at Rooney Field.
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