Spencer Thomas | editor-in-chief |

Dakota Jonke scored the opener and recorded a pair of subsequent assists on Wednesday night, propelling Duquesne to a massive second half in a 3-0 victory over Rhode Island Wednesday night at Rooney Field. It was a much-needed win after a 3-0 loss at Saint Louis on Saturday.

An hour of scoreless play went by before a long ball sent Duquesne’s Jaxon Ervin downhill. A step behind the ball, he was brought down by Ram defender Isnaba Namusse, granting Duquesne a penalty kick.

The honor went to Jonke, who had previously converted on Duquesne’s only penalty attempt of the year. URI goalkeeper Edu Rodriguez leads the nation in save percentage, but Jonke sent him the wrong way with a stutter step and pounded the ball into a wide-open bottom-left corner.

“I knew he was going the wrong way every time, because I studied him before the game,” Jonke said.

“It’s all the work done behind the scenes in training, the extra PKs attempted, the confidence that they bring to the field every single day,” said Duquesne Head Coach Chase Brooks. “We’ve got a list of guys, and he’s number one on the list for it.”

Once they had the lead, Duquesne was in control.

“Getting that first one in helped open up the floodgates,” Brooks said. “Now they were chasing the game, and we got to continue to push forward.”

With 17:36 to go, the Rams’ comeback bid took a significant hit, when Namusse was sent off after being handed his second yellow card.

Duquesne cashed in on its undermanned opposition in the 76th minute, when Jonke found a wide-open Bendix Bennetzen, albeit 30 yards out from goal. He fired a rocket into the top-left corner of the net, giving the Dukes a 2-0 lead. It was the freshman’s first career goal, and he said afterward that as soon as the pass came toward him, he knew he was going to shoot.

“I just knew I had to hit it well. I know I have that kind of technique in my locker. I just needed to show it.”

All evening, Duquesne struck hard passes from its back line to move the ball up through the formation. That nearly worked out six minutes in, when defender Jesper Moksnes found Ashwin Menon in the corner, who delivered a cross to Maxi Hopfer. However, he ran out of time and space as his attempt was swallowed in the goal mouth.

Whenever Duquesne threatened to score, Hopfer was in the vicinity, even being the one to draw Namusse’s final foul, as well as several other cards handed out to Ram defenders desperately trying to slow him down. He finally found his way onto the scoresheet in the 79th minute of the contest when he took a feed from Jonke and scampered around a Ram defender to push in Duquesne’s third goal of the contest from just outside the six-yard box.

Jonke explained how the red card, which prompted Rhode Island to switch to play with three in the back, allowed him to step up.

“I was just telling the center mids, Grant (Macintosh) and Bendix, just to feed me out wide,” he said. “I feel very confident with my one-v-one abilities, and that’s kind of what happened both times. I cut inside, slipped one to Maxi, and then the other one was at the top of the box.

“Whenever you can turn on the ball and kind of go at people, that’s always the fun part.”

It was the 23rd goal of Hopfer’s career, which puts him in third place in Duquesne’s record book. The announcement sent the team into a jubilant celebration around him in the postgame huddle.

“He’s an unbelievable captain,” Bennetzen said. “As a person, as a leader, especially in that changing room. He is significant.”

Duquesne goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy made three saves in his fourth shutout of the season.

The victory moves Duquesne to 7-2-1 overall and 3-1-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference, while Rhode Island absorbs just their second loss of the season. Duquesne’s ninth straight win at home moves them one off the school record, which they will look to crack Oct. 19 against Davidson. Brooks called the field, characterized by tight sidelines that tower over the players, a “fortress.” Jonke admitted he certainly wasn’t a fan when he arrived this spring, but it’s grown on him as the wins keep coming.

“This place is home, and we just know the field so well that even when you ask the other players, it does suck to come here,” he said, “and I hope it does, because this is everything we need.”

The Dukes will be back in action Saturday night, when they travel to take on George Mason.