Tristan Huyett | staff writer

Duquesne men’s soccer defeated Atlantic 10 Conference counterpart Saint Joseph’s on Saturday at Rooney Field in a game that was not nearly as close as the 2-1 final score might suggest.

The Dukes were led by second half goals by forwards Maxi Hopfer and Jack Rhead, as well as a strong teamwide defensive effort that only allowed three shots on goal in the match.

For Rhead, it was his first goal of the year, after having several near misses throughout the season.

“I always want to be on the scoresheet,” said Rhead. “I want to be contributing to the wins every weekend, it feels great to get the goal. [I’m] looking forward to the rest of the season and hopefully getting some more of them.”

Duquesne Head Coach Chase Brooks emphasized the importance of Rhead’s scoring ability as the Dukes continue their season.

“He’s been due one of those for a couple weeks now,” Brooks remarked. “He’s kind of peaking at the right time for us which is great, if he can be that true goal threat that we know he can be, that’s a whole other element [to the team].”

Hopfer’s goal extended his scoring streak to three games, with Saturday’s putting him in a tie for third all time in goals for Duquesne.

“Having a guy like Maxi on the field is absolutely vital, the energy he brings, his ability level, you just need guys like that,” said Brooks.

In what turned out to be a physical contest, the game went to halftime scoreless. The two teams combined for 16 first-half penalties, with each team picking up two yellow cards before the first 45 minutes concluded.

“We knew it was gonna be a physical game, Saint Joseph’s leads the conference in fouls, and so it was ultimately just about taking whatever the ref was gonna give and just try and figure it out from there,” Brooks said.

The Dukes continued their stellar defensive play, limiting SJU to only one shot on goal in the first half. While a shot by SJU’s Blake Driehuis did sneak past goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy with just over three minutes left in the contest, it was only a slight lapse in what was a dominating defensive effort for the team.

“They did a great job tonight, ultimately we shouldn’t have given up that goal in the last three minutes, that hurts us, but again the guys responded,” Brooks said.

The contest on Saturday held a little more weight than usual for the Dukes, as the team celebrated Alumni Day, with a large group of former Dukes watching from the sideline.

“You score a goal, and there’s people around, it’s friendship and memories, it’s just pure joy,” Hopfer said. “I played with all of them, almost every single one was at some point on a pitch with me together, and I’m the last one standing,” he added through a chuckle.

The energy brought on by the alumni was not only felt by Hopfer, as Rhead also shared what the day meant to him.

“I’m only new here, I came here in the fall, I knew just from meeting some of [the alumni] yesterday the energy they would have brought to the program when they were playing here, and today, you can feed off that as a player, it’s great energy, nobody can have a bad word to say about Duquesne,” said Rhead. “It’s brilliant, it’s good to be a part of it.”

The support from the alumni didn’t end when the game did, as chants of “We call him Maxi, he comes from Europe, and he scores, and he scores, and he scores, and he scores, scores, scores,” echoed from Rooney Field long after the game had concluded.

For Duquesne, the contest marked their first of five straight A-10 matchups, as they close their season with six of their next seven games coming within the conference. However, the Dukes, 2-0 in A-10 play, are not treating the upcoming conference gauntlet any differently than they would other games.

“Every game is important, business as usual,” said Brooks. “We’ve gotta just keep being us and execute what we do to the best of our ability, if we do that, we have a chance in every game we play.”

Up next for the 7-1-1 Dukes is Saint Louis on the road on Saturday, followed by a return to Rooney Field against Rhode Island on Oct. 9.