Preview: Now ranked No. 22 by Top Drawer Soccer unbeaten Duquesne men’s soccer team set to face Notre Dame

Photo courtesy Duquesne University men's soccer

Ahead of its first-ever match vs University of Notre Dame (8 pm ET), Duquesne men’s soccer received some recognition on Tuesday — at least in one of the major Men’s College Soccer polls — Top Drawer Soccer — earning a No. 22 ranking in the NCAA Division I men’s soccer poll.

Checking in at 22 on the @TopDrawerSoccer poll 📊#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/eqIehJdEYp

— Duquesne Men's Soccer (@DuqMSoccer) September 10, 2024

The Dukes prevailed on Sunday in a hard-fought contest against Niagara, 1-0, to remain unbeaten. Duquesne had already come away with a win over Xavier previously, which had just defeated #2 Marshall

Now, they’re most focused on another road test, this time at Notre Dame on Tuesday night.

Head Coach Chase Brooks told PSN’s Zac Weiss that his team remains committed to results one match at a time.

“We remind guys of what our principles are and what got us to this point,” Brooks emphasized on his team’s effort vs a determined Niagara side.

“They’ve got a lot of energy because they’re trying to get their first win of the season and again, they’re a much better side than their record indicates, we told our guys that before the game. We felt Xavier overlooked us a little bit, and we didn’t want to do the same thing coming into this game tonight. We bent a little bit, but we didn’t break.”

Ultimately Duquesne was able to close the game out against Niagara, getting more towards its principles and standards by the end.

The game was Brooks’s 51st triumph in which has Dukes prevailed by one goal.

“To use the old quote, ‘if you want to be a good coach get good players, if you want to be a great coach, get great players,’” he determined. “I’m working on the great, I’m not there yet, I know I don’t know everything, but this is more about the players than me.”

The Dukes were previously ranked for two weeks in 2022 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Prior to that, the Dukes were ranked in November 2005.

Previewing Duquesne vs Notre Dame

It’s gameday.

⚽️: Notre Dame
🕗: 8:00pm
📍: South Bend, Ind
📊: https://t.co/51GctLj6qz
📺: ACC Network pic.twitter.com/8gXpBkM6Xp

— Duquesne Men's Soccer (@DuqMSoccer) September 10, 2024

Usually when we’re providing a preview and scouting report of the Fighting Irish here on PSN, it’s ahead of a match vs Pitt, but this match will provide Duquesne with an opportunity to play against a top notch ACC side, even though they won’t be playing Pitt this regular season.

Tuesday’s match against Duquesne opens a six-game homestand for Notre Dame that also includes contests against Stanford (Sept. 14), Chicago State (Sept. 20), Detroit Mercy (Sept. 24), Clemson (Sept. 27) and Trine (Oct. 1)

The Fighting Irish are also without a loss, as they opened their 2024 season with ties against Akron, 1-1, and at Indiana, 2-2, before a 2-1 triumph at Louisville to open ACC action

Through those first three matches, opponents have outshot Notre Dame, 38-27.

Among players to watch for the Fighting Irish, senior midfielder and captain Bryce Boneau owns a team-high three points thanks to a goal and an assist

The Fighting Irish are led by Chad Riley. In his seventh year as head coach, Riley has crafted Notre Dame into a very difficult squad to break down and are extremely opportunistic on the counter.  Under Riley’s direction, Notre Dame has made it to two College Cups (2021, 2023) as well as the 2023 national championship match.  In 2021, Riley’s Fighting Irish broke Pitt’s men’s soccer hearts three different times, once in the regular season, again in the ACC tournament and finally — most painfully — in the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight with a trip to the College Cup on the line.