On the far end of the A-Walk side of Rooney Field, there was an excitement building as the Duquesne men’s soccer team attempted to mount a comeback against Fordham in its Tuesday afternoon Atlantic 10 semifinal contest, but moments later, a notable silence was evident.
Duquesne fell 5-2 to the Rams, almost certainly ending its season as its RPI is unlikely to be in a position to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.
The five goals the Dukes conceded were the most surrendered on Rooney Field since a Sept. 1, 1998, 7-0 setback to West Virginia. Upon finding this out, a former Duquesne head coach and player who actually was on the roster for this game both instantly recalled this game while also being puzzled by what had unfolded in front of them.
All season long, Duquesne made it a goal to be unbeaten at home, a goal accomplished through the regular season, but could not finish with a potential championship final Saturday awaiting were it to earn a positive result.
Fordham itself has been a tough historical opponent. The Rams are 7-0-4 against Duquesne since a 2012 Dukes triumph.
“The first 45 we know was not up to our standard,” Duquesne head coach Chase Brooks opened. “To give up three goals how we did in those moments was really disappointing. I expressed my frustration at halftime and ultimately the guys responded. 3-2 you think, maybe, here we go, battled back really well, but you can’t give up the fourth goal. Today that bend don’t break mentality didn’t work, we broke a little too easily and those guys that still have time left have to learn from this moment. Move forward and take the medicine today.”
Here are three takeaways from the match and season.
1. As evidenced by Brooks’s above sentiment, Duquesne played on its back foot early. It conceded two goals in the opening 10 minutes for the first time under Brooks.
“I felt like they came with more energy than we had,” he admitted. “I felt like we started a little slow, a little flat. As a staff we have to sit down and figure out why that was and what lesson can we learn as a staff going into next fall to see if there’s a way to improve that this way next year.”
Duquesne was able to generate some attack, but Fordham quickly recovered and got a third goal.
The Dukes attempted to find a score to get momentum before half, but Roni Badler’s shot hit the top crossbar and Elijah Jensen hit a shot right of target. To add insult to injury from some vantage points it appeared that his shot had found the back of the net, so while Jensen agonized over a near miss, fans were cheering thinking he had scored.
It was a silent Duquesne side as it went back to the halftime locker room.
2. In the second half Duquesne responded and dictated play. First, it was Dan Banks scoring his second goal of the season a few minutes in. His footwork allowed him to advance past a defender and lift a ball into goal.
Duquesne continued its attack but had a couple pivotal moments go against them. A largely North Carolina based officiating crew had multiple VAR looks.
The first was on a play where Banks was taken out with a leg inside of the box. Brooks challenged the play and after a lengthy review, one which multiple coaches and soccer enthusiasts were convinced was a card stood.
Moments later, there was another VAR look when a Fordham player appeared to commit a blatant handball inside of the box. Fordham said out loud that it figured this would be called, the replay clearly showing as much, but once again the call stood.
Duquesne would get a second breakthrough in the 73rd minute with Jaxon Ervin poking a ball into goal.
This would make Rooney Field a loud atmosphere as everyone had stayed through the 3-0 deficit, but Fordham found a fourth goal just over two minutes later, and Duquesne would flinch once more.
Both goals were scored by Bruno Cellerino who had a hat trick because he also found the back of the net in the opening half. It was a similar performance from the 2024 quarterfinal contest between these two teams when Daniel D’Ippolito scored.
“That’s everything you want,” Brooks said of the second half. “Especially in this sport, you can’t guarantee wins, it’s just not going to happen. What we want to guarantee is that our principles will be there, desire is going to be better, so the second half was brilliant from that point of view, would have liked the total 90 from a day like today and it’s a little disappointing we didn’t get it, but learn the lessons and move forward.”
3. It was a somber circle postgame, some in tears and the quartet of seniors (Ervin, Pepo Bravo, Blaize Hardy and Ashwin Menon) having to process the result in real time. Heads were down, some retreated back to the bench, others approached family and friends of the program, needing an embrace.
The season was quite a successful won having won the regular season for the first time since 2005 and outright since 2004. Officially clinching while on the bus ride back from La Salle, the team pulled over so it could properly celebrate.
Duquesne was picked 10th in the A10 Preseason Poll and never wavered in its belief. Throughout the season it bent but never broke and several players received recognition. Sam Coss was named Goalkeeper of the Year, making the all-conference first team. Jameson Michel and Blaize Hardy also made the first team. Cody Da made the second team, Steel Bayer the all-rookie team and Hardy and Ervin made the all-academic team. Brooks was named coach of the year for the first time. While Alex Posada also should have merited a spot, Duquesne was forced to be respected.
“Congratulate them on a great season because that’s still a big deal what we were able to do this season,” Brooks offered. “Obviously it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but there’s only really one team that really has that happen to them at the end of every year. I give Fordham a lot of credit for coming out and doing what they did, it was an exceptional job from them. We’ll enjoy the season once we get past today.”
Assessing the season, Brooks explained that Duquesne has the ability to compete with anyone in the country, though his side already knew that.
He stressed that winning the regular-season title was fantastic and a lot of belief could be taken from that, but now the next step is just as important.
“Now it’s about making sure we keep the squad together and keep moving forward into the offseason,” he concluded.
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