The Duquesne men’s soccer team rebounded after two straight losses to A10 opponents, beating Detroit Mercy 3-1 Tuesday night. The Dukes had one of their most efficient offensive games, scoring three goals on eight total shots.

“We’ve been talking about getting our momentum back, getting that consistency back in our performance,” Head Coach Chase Brooks said. “Tonight was a much better performance from start to finish.”

The Dukes came out of the gates swinging, spooking the Titans with a fast-break offense. Duquesne was determined to drive the ball down the pitch and keep possession, which they did for the majority of the first half.

Midfielder Jaxon Ervin kept the pressure on Detroit Mercy, firing off two shots in the first eight minutes of the game. The Dukes were able to earn four corner kicks through the first half, but Titans goalkeeper Colin Monroe kept the ball out of his net.

Duquesne consistently pressured the Titans throughout the first half, playing the majority of the match in their defensive zone. Team captain Ashton Jell was able to sneak behind the defense to set up fast breaks for the Dukes, but they were never able to break through, keeping the 0-0 stalemate heading into halftime.

The production Duquesne saw in the second half was night and day to their first half performance. The Dukes scored in the third minute of the second half, thanks to Jell’s breakaway speed giving a perfect feed to Roni Badler, who was in perfect position to catch the goalkeeper off guard.

“I complimented them on the energy they brought in the first half, and then challenged them to step it up one more level,” Brooks said. “But again, they came out, continued to execute the game plan, continued to set in motion things we have talked about.”

The Dukes wasted no time after their first goal, recording another score 11 minutes later. A pass from Bendix Bennetzen gave a wide open Miles Imparato the ball, who caught Monroe out of position for an easy open-net score, giving Duquesne a padded 2-0 lead.

“When you’re able to go up, and you have that comfort of a goal, you can be more dangerous. It’s the best,” Imparato said. “It’s exactly how you want to start a second half, and hopefully we can start starting games like that, get up early in the first half and enjoy the rest of the night.”

Only two and a half minutes later, Imparato found Jaxon Ervin in a similar scenario, giving the Dukes their third goal in 24 minutes. Imparato led the Dukes on a massive tear early in the second half, constantly getting behind defenders and pinning Detroit Mercy in their own zone. Now, Duquesne could finally produce goals from their fast-break offense.

The last 15 minutes of the match became a foul frenzy, with Duquesne earning two yellow cards and giving up a penalty kick to Detroit Mercy’s Drew Pierson that scored the Titans’ only goal of the night.

As Detroit Mercy vehemently tried to break through Duquesne’s defense, the Dukes played passively to keep the ball in front of them. At the final buzzer, the Dukes took their sixth win of the season.

Surprisingly, the Titans fired off more shots than Duquesne during their contest. Detroit Mercy outshot Duquesne 9-8, but it was the Dukes who had more shots on goal. Duquesne was also able to earn six corner kicks, giving them ample opportunity to keep the ball in the Titans’ defensive zone.

Offsides penalties proved to be a struggle for Duquesne, as the team earned seven of those fouls during the evening. Four of them came in the first half, with no goals scored in that time to reflect Duquesne’s aggressive approach.

The Dukes maintained a team effort against Detroit Mercy, as four different Dukes rifled on-goal shots. Duquesne had four players in the game for the full 90 minutes, including midfielder Pepo Bravo, who recorded a crucial assist to Badler’s tiebreaking score.

“Everyone gave 100% of themselves on the field, and that’s what got us those three goals. That’s the biggest difference,” Badler said.

Duquesne has an eight-day break before their next match, heading up I-95 to take on Rhode Island on Oct. 8. The Dukes then head to the Bronx for a clash with Fordham on Oct. 11, making the Dukes face two crucial conference opponents on the road.

“We knew this game was going to be a huge bounce back, and that’s exactly what happened,” Imparato said. “It was perfect for us going into the next two big travel games, and we’re hungry.”

Ben Deihl can be reached at deihlb1@duq.edu