Rowan DuBois | staff writer |

Maxi Hopfer’s last-minute goal completed a second-half comeback for Duquesne men’s soccer, who stunned No. 13 George Mason in an Atlantic 10 Conference matchup on Saturday night in Fairfax, Virginia.

The win is the Dukes’ second-ever program victory over a ranked opponent, the first since a 2018 win over No. 23 Rhode Island, and improves their A-10 record to 4-1 (9-2-1 overall). For the Patriots, it’s their first A-10 loss of the season, knocking them to 4-1 (10-2).

The Dukes have risen to the challenge for ranked opponents this season, as they also tied at No. 23 Notre Dame 1-1 on Sept. 10. Duquesne now sits atop the A-10 standings, bumping George Mason down to second by way of tiebreaker.

Duquesne’s unlikely victory also means it has won five of its last six, and it’s earned it some national recognition of its own. The Dukes are now ranked at No. 24 on the United Soccer Coaches Poll, their first ranking in two seasons.

With less than 30 seconds to play, the Dukes found themselves on a 3-on-3 with Blaize Hardy leading the charge. Hardy slowed down the pace, and picked out Hopfer through a tight crowd of Patriot defenders with a chest-height line drive. Hopfer corraled it down, and quickly tapped it through GMU goalkeeper Jaume Salvado’s legs.

Hopfer’s goal gives him the program record for most game winning goals with 11, and is his fifth goal in six games for the Dukes. This comes just days after Hopfer moved up to third all-time on the program’s top goalscorers list with a goal in the Dukes 3-0 victory over URI on Oct. 9.

George Mason got off the mark early, as forward Mason Gonda netted his team-high seventh goal of the season in the 8th minute. The score came from a curled cross from forward Martim Sereno, allowing Gonda to nod a header down into the bottom-right corner.

The Dukes trailed for a long while afterward before Jaxon Ervin finally found an equalizer in the 76th minute. The goal came from a long throw into the box from Ashwin Menon. Hopfer got to the ball first from the throw, tapping it out with a first-time layoff pass. Ervin then rifled a first-time shot from just inside the box and into the bottom left corner through the crowd of defenders.

Hopfer’s goal was his sixth of the year, as he remains the top goalscoring Duke. He also sits second in assists with three, one behind Ervin who has a team-high four on the season. Ervin’s goal moves him to second-top goalscorer (3).

The Patriots outshot the Dukes 15-12, and led in corners and shots on goal, but five saves from goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy helped Duquesne keep GMU at 1. The Patriots had been undefeated at home this season prior to the loss and were on a five-game winning streak.

The Dukes’ next two matchups will both be at Rooney Field, first against Davidson Saturday before their last nonconference game of the season on Tuesday vs. Northern Kentucky.