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Video: Duquesne men’s soccer keeping vibes up as Blaize Hardy and Maxi Hopfer discuss heroics from dramatic win at No. 13 George Mason

Photo courtesy Zac Weiss

On Saturday night, Duquesne University men’s soccer team earned its second victory ever over a ranked opponent in program history, 2-1 over No. 13 George Mason, in Fairfax, Va., at George Mason Stadium.

The historic win improved the Dukes to 9-2-1 (.792) overall during the 2024 season, including 4-1 (.800) in the Atlantic 10.

It was a thrilling victory made possible thanks to senior forward Maxi Hopfer scoring yet another game-winning goal — this time coming in very dramatic fashion — with 17 seconds left.   Hopfler was set up by a fantastic defensive play, then box-to-box run by Blaize Hardy.

On Tuesday, Pittsburgh Soccer Now’s Zac Weiss was on campus and caught up with two of the heroes from Saturday’s exhilarating win: Hopfer and Hardy.

Possessing a flair for the dramatic, Hopfer continues to etch his name among the top players in program history on the Bluff.

The game-winning goal with 17 seconds to go marked the 11th of Hopfer’s career, establishing a new Duquesne career record. He has now scored in five of the last six games, owning five goals and an assist over that span, and his performance against the Patriots Saturday catapulted his career point total to 61, which ranks third in school history. Entering the game tied for fifth in scoring with Travis MacKenzie (2004-07), Hopfer leapfrogged David Gingrich (1999-2002), who concluded his career with 59 points.

Duquesne improved to a perfect 6-0 this season in games decided by one goal and has won nine straight during the regular season dating back to last year when turning the trick.

Hardy, a redshirt sophomore who spent two years at VCU before transfer to the Bluff,  earned his first point as a member of the Dukes with the assist.  Hardy has started the last 10 matches on the back line for the Dukes and is now the 12th different student-athlete for Duquesne to register a point this season …

“Vibes are up right now, but we don’t want to be too high, or too low,” Hardy said.

The complete interview with Hardy and Hopfer can be found on Pittsburgh Sports Now’s YouTube Channel.

Duquesne, which earned a 1-1 tie at No. 23 Notre Dame earlier this season, entered the 2024 campaign 0-7 all-time against ranked foes on the road, and it marked the program’s first victory over a team ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 since a 3-1 win over No. 23 Rhode Island Oct. 20, 2018, at Rooney Field.

Duquesne had been 0-5 all-time against teams ranked in the top 15, and the win Saturday also snapped George Mason’s five-game winning streak. All-time against teams ranked in the top 25, the Dukes own a mark of 2-9-2. More importantly, the win Saturday puts Duquesne in a tie atop the Atlantic 10 standings with the Patriots, as each team owns identical 4-1 (.800) conference records.

Duquesne closes out the 2024 regular season with three of its final four matches at home.

The Dukes welcome Davidson to Rooney Field Saturday, Oct. 19, to begin the stretch drive at 7:00 p.m.

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