Duquesne disappointed by scoreless draw

Photo courtesy Zac Weiss

The Duquesne Men’s Soccer Team was looking to build a new winning streak, while Saint Joseph’s was seeking to exact revenge after dropping an Atlantic 10 Championship game to the Dukes, but ultimately both sides would be let down.

Both teams played to a scoreless draw Wednesday night at Rooney Field as A-10 play continued.

“It’s a missed opportunity for sure but Saint Joe’s is a good team,” Duquesne coach Chase Brooks said. “We knew it would be tough because they wanted some revenge from last year. Ultimately, we lacked energy in the first half but I’m happy with the way the guys responded in the second half. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the back of the net.”

Duquesne’s first half appeared disorganized, and the team expressed disappointment that the energy was just not present.

“The whole team was quieter and weren’t talking to each other,” junior defender Torge Witteborg said. “If you see the first five minutes aren’t going well, it’s hard to flip the switch. Halftime is always good to have where you can regroup.”

Indeed, Duquesne has been a side that has been able to generate action early on in contests but it took until halftime, where the team was left to itself for a few moments by the coaching staff.

During that time, Witteborg explained that building more energy and connection with the team had to be said and it helped generate a more consistent attack in the second 45 minutes.

Brooks added that he thanked the subs that came in for starting to turn the tide.

In the second half, Duquesne appeared the more consistent side, but was unable to generate many shots on frame. Shots that did find net were saved by six-foot-seven goalkeeper Luis Ludosan.

Duquesne did have a corner set piece with less than a minute to goal, but the shot did not find the net and shortly after the tie was secured.

Witteborg attempted to draw positives from the result explaining that Duquesne was able to generate a neutral result despite not playing its best soccer, a sign of how dangerous the team could be with more consistent play.

“We had a clean sheet again,” he said. “We just have to get better in that final third and get more shots off. If you take Howard out, we just haven’t scored many goals this season, we have to create more.”

With this result, Duquesne has now had 12 consecutive matches without a loss at Rooney Field, a streak which dates back to the 2020 pandemic-shortened season.

While Duquesne was unable to get a full result, Dayton was unable to earn a full three points either on the road at St. Bonaventure, meaning the Dukes did not lose ground in the conference standings. Both remain at the top of those rankings with eight points apiece.

Duquesne will now look to move forward as it goes back to the road to take on George Mason Saturday.

A win for the Dukes will give them their most road wins in a season since 2004. Duquesne’s most road wins in a season came in 2003 when it went 7-0-2.

“You saw the looks of disappointment on their face after the game I don’t think keeping them focused is going to be a problem,” said Brooks. “We have Mason on Saturday and it is tough to win on the road, so we have to refocus and get ready for that one.”

GAMEDAY INFO

Duquesne starters (7-1-3/2-0-2 A-10)- Domenic Nascimben (GK), Christoffer Vie Angell, Jesper Moksnes, Torge Witteborg, Zach Mowka, Maxi Hopfer, Elmar Jonsson, Harper Cook, Nate Dragisich, Ask Ekeland, Cameron Territo

Saint Joseph’s (2-4-5/1-1-2 A-10)- Luis Ludosan (GK), Kenyatta Collins, Truls Braendveng, Blake Driehius, James Fletcher, Ariel Hadar, Fletcher Caponecchia, Mikkel Andersen, Chris Hunt, Garrett Lyons, Phillip Wujewitsch

Yellow Cards- Kenyatta Collins SJU 54′, Hugo Snowden DUQ 69′

Shots- Saint Joseph’s 15 (4 on frame) Duquesne 14 (6 on frame)

Corner kicks- Duquesne 5 Saint Joseph’s 3