NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Chase Brooks era will begin for the Niagara men's soccer team this weekend, as the Purple Eagles visit Duquesne on Friday and host Little Three rival St. Bonaventure on Sunday.

Brooks takes over a Niagara team that finished 7-9-2 overall, with a 5-3-1 record in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play last year. Dating back to last year, the Purple Eagles will begin the 2011 season on a modest three-game winning streak, having defeated Canisius, Marist and Siena to close out the season.

Coming back for his final season is senior Carl Haworth, who was recently named the 2011 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. The Barrie, Ont. natve recently competed in the World University Games in China, where he scored a pair of goals for Team Canada. The prolific scorer also recently earned the 43rd spot on "Joe's Big Board," a list of the top 100 senior prospects, authored by Joe Mauceri.

The Purple Eagles will visit Duquesne on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., a team that narrowly defeated Niagara the last time they met, a 1-0 overtime thriller on Sept. 1, 2009. The Dukes have been selected to finish in 10th place in the 14-team Atlantic-10 conference.

Niagara will then open the home portion of its schedule against Little Three rival St. Bonaventure at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Purple Eagles are 2-0 in their last two home openers, including a 2-1 win over Hartwick in 2010. Sunday's contest will be televised via tape-delay in the Western New York area on Sunday and throughout the week on Lockport Community Television (LCTV).

Following this weekend, Niagara will hit the road to take on Cornell and Hartwick.