Cassie DiBenedetti | Staff Writer
10/04/2018
The Duquesne men’s soccer team was cut short during its game against the visiting Cleveland State Vikings on Tuesday night at Rooney Field, drawing 0-0. Due to visible lightning, the game was delayed by officials and eventually postponed, leaving the match absent of a victor. Nevertheless, 18 total fouls were recorded, as were three consecutive yellow cards.
The Duquesne offense initiated continuous pressure on the Vikings defense early on, which resulted in four attempted shots: The first by Ryan Landry, then Moritz Kappelsberger, and two by Rob Dymond. Unfortunately, each effort failed to reach the net, and was confronted by the Cleveland State defense. The formidable passing game possessed by the Vikings had the Dukes constantly pushing for possession of the ball.
Although the scoreboard remained stagnant, the players did not. Flags speckled the grass throughout the 45-minute half, when nine fouls were handed to the Dukes, surpassing the Vikings’ seven. Some penalties were even more severe: A total of three yellow cards were received by the teams. One was presented to Vikings defender Ben Hryszko (12:56), but two were obtained by Duquesne’s own Ian Larson (27:47) and Robbie McKelvey (36:40).
Following the cancellation, Duquesne Head Coach Chase Brooks said he was disappointed that the game was terminated early, but looks forward to the immediate future.
He expressed that the Dukes will use this experience with their worthy opponent as a practice opportunity, and that he anticipates using this performance as an example to transition to the team’s next game, against the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams on Saturday, Oct. 6.
The game in Richmond, Va., begins at 7 p.m.
In the first Atlantic 10 game of the season for the Red & Blue, the Dukes tied Saint Joseph’s 2-2 on Sept. 29 at Rooney Field. Following the team’s road game at VCU on Saturday, Duquesne will return home on Oct. 10 to face conference counterpart, Fordham.
Sitting at 2-5-2 overall and 0-0-1 within conference play thus far, the Dukes will surely look to top the Rams this weekend.
