Duquesne men’s soccer season comes to an end in A10 quarterfinal 2-1 loss to Davidson

Photo courtesy Duquesne University athletics

From Duquesne University Athletics Department Report

Fifth seeded Duquesne University men’s soccer team saw its season come to an end in heartbreaking fashion Friday night dropping a 2-1 decision to No. 4 Davidson in the Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals at Alumni Soccer Stadium.

The Dukes fell behind early after Denis Krioutchenkov scored his second goal against Duquesne this season in the 11th minute. Sai Tummala dropped a long pass toward Krioutchenkov who used his speed to get out in front of the DU defense and fire in the opening score.

However, the Dukes responded in the 37th minute. Ask Ekeland took the ball in the box, turned to his left, and blasted a shot past Lou Liedtka for his 12th goal of the season. Ekeland finished the season with four goals over the final three games.

The Wildcats held possession for most of the second half and finally broke the tie in the 78th minute, as Vincent Bennage played hero, putting in a header past Zoltan Nagy from close range. Maxi Hopfer had the best chance for the Dukes in the remaining minutes of the game, but his shot from outside the box just missed the left side of the net.

Davidson held the edge in shots 15-14 and shots on goal 8-6. Things were chippy throughout, as Duquesne picked up 3 yellow cards and 10 fouls in the match. Davidson topped the foul total however with 13 fouls to go along with 2 yellow cards. Duquesne had two more corners than Davidson with five in total, but was unable to convert.

Cameron Territo and Ekeland led DU in shots on goal with two apiece. Christoffer Vie Angell and Sam Bennett both played the full 90 for the Dukes.

Duquesne finishes the season with an 8-7-3 record, its third straight above .500.