Men’s soccer breaks winless streak

It seemed as though the Duquesne men's soccer team was in another game where it would outplay the opposition only to give up an untimely goal and suffer an inexplicable loss. But the Dukes made sure that didn't happen again.

Duquesne (3-5-1) snapped its winless streak, an 0-5-1 stretch, and matched its best performance of the season with a 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Bulls (5-5-1) at Rooney Field Sunday afternoon.

Duquesne, which has struggled to find the net on point-blank chances the past few weeks, finally had the ball bounce their way.

Midfielder Derek Patrizio played a corner kick short to forward Simon Gomez, who quickly tapped the ball back to Patrizio, giving him a vacated half of field to spot his cross into the Buffalo box. Defender Nathan McCann headed the ball deeper into the box, where it avoided several Bulls to find the foot of defender Adam Clement, who put the ball past Buffalo goalkeeper Ryan Aubrey, giving the Dukes a 1-0 advantage in the 60th minute.

Forward Josh Patterson added an insurance goal in the 76th minute. Patterson took a pass from Patrizio, streaked down the left hash marks on Rooney Field and drilled a rocket directly into the upper-right corner of the net from 25 yards out. It was Patterson's first goal on 23 shots this season, and it lifted the Dukes' advantage to 2-0.

As soon as Patterson's shot rang off the inside of the crossbar, the Duquesne bench cleared and surrounded the junior in celebration. After the game, Patterson said "it felt great" to score his first goal, especially after Duquesne's 3-2 loss at Robert Morris Thursday, where they outshot the Colonials 16-6, and he recorded another five shots without a goal.

But Patterson was more focused on what Duquesne's win meant for the team than what it meant for him personally.

"This feels really good. We needed this win," Patterson said. "We were coming off a five-game losing streak, and it's nice to see us put it all together."

Coach Jake Ouimet made a few adjustments to the lineup heading into Sunday's game, including sitting Patterson at the start of both halves. The most noticeable adjustment, however, was the decision to sit senior goalkeeper Colin Thorp in favor of redshirt freshman Sasa Miskovic.

Miskovic saved every one of the five shots he saw Sunday, but gave all of the credit to his defense.

"The defense played very well. I think Nate [McCann] and Adam [Clement] won every ball that came their way," Miskovic said. "It feels great getting out there and getting the shutout, but I don't really think I was tested."

Ouimet decided to make the move at goalkeeper to help stem the tide of Duquesne's winless streak and was pleased with Miskovic's effort.

"Sasa did a great job and I was happy with the way he stepped up after being put in there," Ouimet said.

Ouimet also noted that Thorp remains his number one keeper and he will have to decide who will start in goal when the Dukes enter conference play over the next two weeks.

The Dukes' offense also played well, notching another game where they outshot the opposition, with a 12-9 performance against the Bulls, something Ouimet thinks Duquesne needed to take advantage of desperately.

"We've had a tough four weeks and we've played good soccer, so it was beginning to get frustrating," he said. "It feels great to protect our home field and get this win before conference play starts."

The Dukes improved their record to 3-0-1 at home and will attempt to make that record even more impressive when they enter conference play against St. Bonaventure at Rooney Field on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.