Duquesne M Soccer Sticks To Principles In Latest Victory

Duquesne’s men’s soccer team continued its momentum blanking Davidson 3-0 Saturday night on Rooney Field and in doing so secured a spot in the Atlantic 10 Championships.

“The A10 is just tough,” Duquesne Head Coach Chase Brooks stated moments after the victory. “There are no easy games. Everybody is good. Everyone is coached well. Everyone’s got quality. At some point, you just have to find ways to win. Adversity reveals character for me, and I think that was on full display tonight. The adversity of trying to play through their press, which I think they did a good job with. We took advantage of what they left open to us and we capitalized.”

Duquesne remains unbeaten at home, now in six contests as goalkeeper Sam Coss earned his fifth clean sheet. This ties Coss for most shutouts among A10 keepers and his goals against average is atop that list.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s triumph.

1. It certainly was not a fast start for Duquesne. The Dukes have been pressed several times this season, but Davidson marked its opponent across the field with height, and it forced Duquesne to make an adjustment.

Instead, Duquesne would have to generate more movement to create open spaces, which caused it to go longer on the ball to create run of play in pockets to settle down.

Senior forward Cody Da’s fifth goal of the season came in the 25th minute, as Duquesne was starting to sustain some possession. Da’s ability off a Wildcat turnover, resulted in his shot finding a home in the top-right corner of the frame. Da’s five goals are tied for third in the A10.

Da waited for teammate Jameson Michel as the two had planned on flipping in tandem were either to score and both sent their audition tape of sorts to the acrobatics & tumbling team when the former did just that.

Nearly three minutes later Roni Badler netted his first this campaign. Davidson’s goalkeeper Lucas Beltran misplayed a contest allowed Badler to have plenty of time to double Duquesne’s lead.

Prior to Saturday’s game, Michel excitedly went up the Rooney Field steps as his family drove four hours from Columbia, Maryland.

His defensive pressure led to his first goal in nearly two months and his third of the season.

“I’ve been thinking about it but got to take notes from (Da) man,” beamed Michel. “Chase brought me in and has shown me so much love, I can’t ask for anything more. My confidence has been through the roof. More games ahead, so I can’t wait.”

2. It seems as though each game Duquesne has some one off the bench that makes an impact. A week ago, that was Dan Banks and he earned his first collegiate start in this game.

Saturday, it was freshman Elijah Jensen, who not only saw the pitch for the first time in A10 play, but played a season-high 43 minutes, which included a legitimate shot on frame.

Jenson showed how far he has come and with three conference games remaining before the conference championships, showed that he could belong in the rotation.

“Elijah’s a guy that’s right on the cusp and has been all season,” Brooks observed. “He got some minutes early in the year, so it was really nice to see him come back into his own, especially down the stretch. That’s what it’s about, you have to have guys that are going to step up, injuries are going to happen throughout the year and I’m really proud of Elijah for the minutes he gave for sure.”

3. Duquesne finds itself third in the A10 standings at 12. Rhode Island sits at 15 points, and Saint Louis has 13 points. The Dukes have two of their final three conference games on the road, which continues Wednesday at St. Bonaventure.

“We know that we have the talent, we know we have what it takes to succeed,” Da said. “We had a tough preseason and that in itself makes playing the games that much easier, when practices are so tough and you’re struggling to get up to go train, but you know you have to do it. I think it made it easier for us to just dig deep and actually fight in games, even when we’re behind or if the game’s not going to way we want it to.”

It remains to be seen where Duquesne will be in the conference standings, but a team which battled injuries a season ago has suffered a few this season, including to two players who saw significant starting time and have not yet been able to return.

Even so, Duquesne has found ways to raise its level of play, scoring three goals in the first half of a game for the first time since Oct. 12, 2022 and despite not having its best performance found a way to capitalize by sticking to principles.

“The guys are just working so hard,” concluded Brooks. “You can’t guarantee results in this business, I wish we could, but you can guarantee process, you can guarantee standards and I think these guys are giving us all of that which is leading to positive things.”

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Zac Weiss