Men's Soccer Set to Battle Duquesne in A-10 Semifinals

#2 RHODE ISLAND vs. #6 DUQUESNE
Friday, Nov. 12 at 4 p.m. (Eastern)
Hermann Stadium – St. Louis, Mo.
Live Coverage: Live Stats | ESPN+

The Rhody-Duquesne Series

Rhode Island leads: 16-8-0
Last meeting: Duquesne defeated Rhode Island 3-1 on Oct. 20, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Current Streak: Duquesne, one win
Rhode Island's last win: Nov. 1, 2017; the Rams defeated the Dukes (2-1) in Kingston, R.I.
Of Note: URI is 2-0 when facing Duquesne in the A-10 Championship. The last time the teams met in the postseason was in 2005, when the Rams defeated the Dukes 2-1 in overtime. Ironically, that game was also played at Saint Louis. The only other time URI and Duquesne met in the postseason was in 1999 title game, which Rhody won 7-0.

Rhode Island (10-4-2, 5-2-1 Atlantic 10)

Rhode Island defeated Davidson 3-1 last weekend to advance to the A-10 semifinals for the seventh time in nine seasons under head coach Gareth Elliott. The two outlier seasons during that stretch are the COVID-impacted 2020 campaign and the 2013 season – Elliott's first as URI's head coach.
URI finished the regular season tied with Saint Joseph's for second place in the Atlantic 10. The Rams had been picked to finish seventh in the A-10's preseason poll.
Rhody is 11-4-1 in A-10 tournament games under head coach Gareth Elliott.
Prior to the COVID-impacted 2020 season, Rhody had claimed back-to-back Atlantic 10 championship titles.
The Rams also advanced to the conference semifinals in 2015, 2016 and 2017 after making it to the finals in 2014.
This season, URI went 3-2-0 against teams participating in the championship. The Rams defeated #4 Fordham (1-0), #4 VCU (2-1; 2OT) and #8 Dayton (1-0) but fell to #1 Saint Louis (3-1) and #7 Davidson (2-1). Rhody did not face #3 Saint Joseph's or #6 Duquesne during the regular season.
The Rams lead the nation in shot accuracy (0.544), rank third in shots on goal per game (7.69) and are 11th in save percentage (.807).
Through 16 games this year, Rhode Island has scored 27 goals and allowed just 16.
The Rams have outshot their opponents 226-187 and have put 124 attempts on frame while allowing just 83.
Six different Rams collected Atlantic 10 postseason honors this season. Freshman Isak Oystese was named the conference's Rookie of the Year and also earned All-Rookie honors. Redshirt junior Patrick Agyemang was a First Team selection while grad student Edvin Akselsen and redshirt senior Stefan Schmidt both were named to the Second Team. Schmidt also earned All-Academic accolades, along with redshirt junior Zach Drayer, while freshman Cian Purcell joined Oystese on the All-Rookie squad.
Agyemang, a two-time A-10 Player of the Week, leads the Rams in scoring with 25 total points on 10 goals and five assists. He enters this weekend's Atlantic 10 semifinals ranked 15th nationally in shots on goal per game (1.81), 22nd in points per game (1.56) and 24th in goals per game (0.62).
Akselsen – who elected to stay home in Europe during the 2020-21 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic – also missed all of the 2021 preseason, as well as the first four games of the season. Despite going 659 days without playing in a game prior to his season debut on Sept. 10th, he has managed to register three goals and four assists in 10 games played.
Schmidt, like Akselsen, opted out of the 2020-21 season. Since returning to Kingston, he has posted a 10-4-2 record with six shutouts. A three-time A-10 Defensive Player of the Week, he leads the A-10 and ranks 14th nationally in save percentage (.802), and has the league's second-best goals against average (0.956). Academically, he owns a 3.88 GPA as a Psychology & Philosophy double major with a minor in Biological Sciences.
Drayer, a team co-captain, owns a 3.94 grade point average while double-majoring in Biological Sciences and Cell & Molecular Biology. On the field, he has started every game at right back, helping the Rams post six shutouts this season. He also leads Rhody's field players in total minutes played (1,481).
Oystese is tied for the league lead, and ranked fourth nationally, with five game-winning goals. One of the most accurate shooters in the country, 60.0% of his attempts have been on target – which is the 11th-best percentage in Division I. He is the sixth player in program history to be named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, and the third under head coach Gareth Elliott.
Purcell has appeared and started in 15 of Rhode Island's 16 games this season. An offensively-minded defender, he has recorded four assists while helping the Rams limit their opponents to an average of just five shots on goal per game.

Duquesne (9-6-2, 3-3-2 Atlantic 10)

The Dukes tied with Davidson for sixth place in the Atlantic 10 this year with a 3-3-2 mark in conference play.
Duquesne advanced to the A-10 semifinals after scoring two goals in the final five minutes at Saint Joseph's last weekend, defeating the Hawks 2-1 in dramatic fashion.
The Dukes are 2-6-1 when playing on the road this season, and 2-1-2 in overtime games.
Duquesne has been shutout three times and has held opponents scoreless three times.
Maxi Hopfer leads the team in scoring with 28 points on 11 goals and six assists.
Nate Dragisich, Zach Mowka, and Ryan Landry each have five assists to their credit.
A total of 12 different players have recorded either a goal or an assist so far this season.
Goalkeeper Domeinc Nascimben has played every minute of every game between the posts. He has a 1.86 goals against average and a .723 save percentage.

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Players Mentioned

#27 Patrick Agyemang: F; 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior; Western MA Pioneers

#12 Zach Drayer: D; 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior; Empire United

#1 Stefan Schmidt: GK; 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior; FC Carl Zeiss Jena

#28 Edvin Akselsen: M; 5' 10"; Graduate Student; KFUM Oslo

#9 Isak Oystese: F; 6' 0"; Freshman; KFUM Oslo

#11 Cian Purcell: D/M; 5' 7"; Freshman; Rams FC Arsenal

Players Mentioned

#27 Patrick Agyemang
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Junior; Western MA Pioneers
: F

#12 Zach Drayer
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior; Empire United
: D

#1 Stefan Schmidt
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior; FC Carl Zeiss Jena
: GK

#28 Edvin Akselsen
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student; KFUM Oslo
: M

#9 Isak Oystese
: 6' 0"; Freshman; KFUM Oslo
: F

#11 Cian Purcell
: 5' 7"; Freshman; Rams FC Arsenal
: D/M