NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The men’s soccer team wraps up its five-game road swing this weekend when it travels to Pennsylvania for a pair of matches. Niagara (1-3-0) takes on Duquesne in Pittsburgh on Friday night before traveling to Lewisburg to face Bucknell Sunday afternoon.

The Purple Eagles look to build on the momentum they generated their last time out. Over the weekend, Niagara picked up its first win, downing St. Francis (N.Y.), 1-0, on Friday. Freshman Desmond Betteto’s (Sarnia, Ont.) first career goal also marked the first goal of the season for NU. Additionally, Niagara received a goal from junior Matthew Durand (Melbourne, Australia) in its 2-1 loss at Stony Brook. Both goals came off assists from Billy Gustafson (Rochester, N.Y.), who saw his first game action after an injury prevented him from participating in the team’s first two games. Gustafson, a preseason All-MAAC selection as a defender, made his presence felt on the defensive end and resumed his starting spot in the middle of the backline.

Defensively, Niagara has been buoyed by the play of sophomore goalkeeper John Fiutowski (Ottawa, Ont.). Fiutowski picked up his first shutout of the season and third of his career Friday, before posting a career-high 13 saves against Stony Brook on Sunday. For the season, Fiutowski tops the MAAC rankings in save percentage (.870), saves (40) and saves-per-game (10). He has already amassed 40 saves in four games, nearly two-thirds of his save total from 2006. At his current pace of 10 saves a game and assuming he plays in every remaining contest, Fiutowski could easily challenge the record for most saves in a season held by Josh Meyer (134).

The Purple Eagles will need to be on the top of their game this weekend as both Duquesne and Bucknell have had close matches against ranked teams. Similar to Niagara, Duquesne (1-3-1) struggled to put the ball in the net early on, as the team was held scoreless in its first three games, including a 1-0 loss at then-No. 20 West Virginia. In its last two games, the Dukes have scored four times with three of the goals coming in a 3-1 win over Binghamton. Duquesne’s goals have come from four different players, including senior Travis MacKenzie and sophomore Alex Trujillo, who lead the team with four points each. Niagara is 0-3-0 all-time against the Dukes, including last year’s 2-1 overtime loss at home.

Bucknell (1-3-2) picked up its first win of the season Sunday night with a convincing 3-0 win over Rider. The Bison’s first three games went to overtime, including an eventual 2-1 loss at then-No.14 Northwestern. The Bison are led offensively by seniors Corey Curnutte and Justin Wolf with four points apiece. In net, senior Joey Kuterbach has seen the majority of the minutes and owns a 0.800 GAA that includes a pair of shutouts. The Purple Eagles and Bisons have squared off on four previous ocassions, most recently in 2003 when Niagara lost 1-0 at home.