University of Detroit Mercy Athletics

The 2004 women's soccer team set new heights on the playing field, going 14-8-1, including a 6-1 mark in Horizon League play. It was the postseason, however, where the Titans made history.
 
The Titans got on a roll late in the season and drew Youngstown State in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament. The Titans survived a scare from the Penguins and picked up a 2-1 win in overtime to advance to the semis against Green Bay. Detroit Mercy cruised to a 3-0 win over the Phoenix to set up a showdown with Milwaukee in the league championship.
 
Milwaukee, winners of two of the previous three championships, entered the title match unbeaten in conference play at 7-0 and breezed through the quarterfinals and semifinals on their way back to the championship. In the first meeting of the 2004 season merely two weeks earlier, the Panthers snuck past the Titans with a 2-1 win in overtime.
 
The championship would provide another dramatic classic, but this edition featured a different ending. The Titans would score first off a header from junior Allison Hodgins (Epple) and blanketed the potent Milwaukee attack with a suffocating defensive effort to claim the Horizon League title by a 1-0 score. It was the program's first title since 1995.

The win sent the squad to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history and set up a first-round matchup with in-state powerhouse Michigan.
 
In the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against the Wolverines, Hodgins opened the scoring off a penalty kick early in the first half, before a diving stop by senior Titan goalkeeper Alisson Dube on a Michigan penalty kick just moments later revealed that Detroit Mercy was in town for business.
 
Junior Kathy Banjavcic scored twice – the first on a cross from senior Mandi Beloungea (Jasky) and the second after securing a loose ball on a shot from senior Judith Atwood – to send Detroit Mercy into the break with a commanding 3-0 lead over the Wolverines.
 
After the break, a shocked Michigan sideline regrouped and threatened with a pair of goals in the second half, but Detroit Mercy spoiled Michigan's comeback hopes and advanced to the second round with a stunning 3-2 upset. 

The tournament win remains Detroit Mercy's only victory in the NCAA Tournament outside of men's basketball, while the Horizon League Championship is the women's soccer program's 

The 2004 women's soccer team was led by some of the most distinguished names in program history. Hall of Famer Mary Latham led the team as a sophomore with 37 points on 16 goals and five assists, while Beloungea added a team-high 11 assists. Dube recorded 142 saves, the highest single season total in program history. But to set the bar for the program, it took a complete team effort.