Saint Francis Men’s Soccer Returns to Rooney Field After Four-Year Hiatus

Men's Soccer | 9/16/2025 10:02:00 AM

OPENING PITCH VS DUQUESNE
Saint Francis and Duquesne have met 12 times since 2007, with the Red Flash holding a 6–4–2 edge in the series. The Dukes claimed the most recent meeting on August 31, 2021, with a 4–3 victory in Pittsburgh, snapping a three-match win streak for Saint Francis. On the road, the Red Flash are 3–3–1 all-time against Duquesne, earning a road victory in 2018.

This season, Saint Francis enters Wednesday night's matchup at Rooney Field with a 0–4–1 record, coming off a 3–3 thriller of a draw at Loyola Maryland. Still searching for their first win of 2025, the Red Flash will look to build on their recent attacking momentum and pick up their first road win in the series since 2018.

THE WORD ON THE DUKES
Duquesne rides a 4–0–2 unbeaten start into Wednesday after a 3–1 win over St. Bonaventure in its A-10 opener. Senior Dakota Jonke leads with 3 goals and 2 assists, while Jaxon Ervin, Hákon Dagur Matthíasson, and Roni Badler have each added two goals apiece. Redshirt junior Ashwin Menon and sophomore Miles Imparato both scored their first career tallies last time out.

In net, veteran Diego Chavez owns a 0.50 GAA with four shutouts, while freshman Alex Posada has logged every minute across the back line. The Dukes have outscored opponents 12–3 and remain unbeaten at Rooney Field (2–0–1).

LAST TIME WE MET
Saint Francis opened its 2021 season with a dramatic battle at Duquesne, ultimately falling 4–3 in overtime. The Red Flash struck first through Jeff Thielmann in the 11th minute before adding a second-half tally from Piet Wesling on a penalty kick. With the game on the line in the closing seconds, freshman Maximus Rigby delivered a clutch equalizer — his first career goal — to send the match into overtime. Despite controlling long stretches of play and generating 13 total shots, including five from Rigby and four from Thielmann, the Red Flash were edged by a golden goal in the 95th minute.

NEXT TIME OUT
The Red Flash return to Loretto on Tuesday, September 23, for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff against Bucknell at Stokes Soccerplex. Saint Francis will be hunting for its first home victory of the 2025 season in what promises to be an energetic non-conference matchup.

LAST TIME OUT
Saint Francis battled to a 3–3 draw at Loyola Maryland, highlighted by a wave of career firsts. Harvey Skurek scored his first goal as a Red Flash off assists from Andre Isreal and Jonah Wolf, while freshman Brandon Napoleon headed home his first collegiate goal on a cross from Álvaro Planas with an additional first helper of the season from Mika Wernicke. Wolf later added his first career goal to complete the comeback and finish with a goal and an assist In the net, freshman Diego Garciarena made his first collegiate start and delivered a key second half save to keep SFU level.

NEC HONORS
Wolf has been named NEC Prime Performer of the Week. Wolf turned in a standout performance in Saint Francis' 3–3 draw at Loyola Maryland, recording his first career goal and adding an assist.

PRESEASON POLL
Saint Francis men's soccer was picked fifth in the NEC Preseason Poll. Mercyhurst, which won the NEC regular season, and LIU, which won the NEC Tournament, have been selected as co-preseason favorites after LIU earned three first-place votes and Mercyhurst garnered five. FDU picked up the remaining two top votes, while Le Moyne, Saint Francis, Stonehill, New Haven, Howard, Chicago State, and CCSU rounded out the poll. Mercyhurst and New Haven are both ineligible for the postseason.

INTERNATIONAL FLARE
Head coach Mads Kaiser has nine players that have come from outside the United States: Volkan Celikkol (Turkey), Alex De Nittis(Germany), Harry Elmore (England), Alejandro Escobar (Columbia), Diego Garciarena (Paraguay), Álvaro Planas(Spain), Julian Quiroga(Bolivia), Harvey Skurek (England), Mika Wernicke (Germany) and Jonah Wolf (Germany).

ABOUT THE COACH
Mads Kaiser begins his third season as the Red Flash men's soccer head coach. In his first season, Saint Francis was the only NCAA Division I team to finish undefeated with a 7-0-8 record and won the NEC regular season. Saint Francis is 14-7-10 overall and 10-2-3 in NEC play. The Red Flash hosted an NEC Semifinals Game in his first two years. He was an assistant in Loretto for two seasons prior to his elevation as head coach.

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