Gametracker vs. Butler University 10-9-09

Gametracker vs. Valparaiso University 10-11-09

Exploding for three goals on a wet, chilly afternoon, the University of Detroit Mercy women's soccer squad topped visiting Youngstown State last Sunday, 3-1, and will now travel to Indiana this weekend for dates with Butler at 4 p.m. Friday and Valparaiso at 3 p.m. Sunday.

CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GAME?
You can stay up to the minute with the Titans while they're on the road via Gametracker for Friday's contest in Indianapolis HERE, and for Sunday's contest in Valparaiso HERE.

OPENING WEEKEND SPLIT
After wrapping up its non-conference schedule with a trip to Hawaii, Detroit returned to the mainland and began preparing for its first weekend of Horizon League play.

UDM kicked the weekend off with a trip to Ohio to square off against the Cleveland State Vikings. Lightning caused the start of the game to be delayed by 20 minutes, but once the ball was dropped the Vikings came out strong, nabbing a 1-0 lead after less than three minutes and taking five of their nine shots in the game in the first 10 minutes of action. Detroit controlled the pace the rest of the way, outshooting Cleveland State 12-9, including an 8-1 advantage in the second half, but couldn't sneak one into the goal. Junior Selena Stanski (Tecumseh, ON/St. Anne's Secondary) led the Titans' comeback bid and recorded with eight shots and four on goal.

Needing a win to stay in contention for one of six league tournament slots, UDM welcomed the Youngstown State Penguins to Titan Field Sunday afternoon. Detroit owned a stellar 11-0-0 all-time record heading into the match and kept it that way, dominating the second half after heading into the intermission knotted 1-1. Sophomore Alexandra Suschak (Brecksville, OH) gave the Titans a 1-0 lead with her first goal of the season before Youngstown State's Kara Cooper notched her seventh of the year for the equalizer.

But as the rain came crashing down onto the field, the Titans offense did the same to the Penguins defense, recording a season high 20 shots and outshooting YSU 14-2 in the final 45 minutes. Alexandra Suschak recorded an assist when her corner kick was headed into the net by sophomore Rebecca Pidgeon (Ann Arbor, MI/Port Huron) for her first career goal. Pidgeon would record career goal No. 2 less than 15 minutes later to add some insurance. But the Detroit back line of Alexandra Suschak, senior Alauna Pierce (Toronto, ON/Mowat), and Alyssa Korson (Suttons Bay, Lake Leelanau St. Mary's), along with keeper Joanna Hinde (Shelby Twp., MI/Eisenhower) barely let the Penguins sniff the net. YSU was held to just six shots in the game and Hinde tallied three saves. Stanski, sophomore Lauren Roffey (West Bloomfield, MI/West Bloomfield) and freshman Sarah Dzuris (Rochester Hills, MI/Rochester) each took four shots, while Pidgeon, Korson, and Alexandra Suschak took two apiece and senior Trina Kochanski (Royal Oak, MI/Kimball) and sophomore Alison Suschak (Brecksville, OH/Brecksville) each took one.

WEEKEND MATCHUPS
The Titans (3-8-1 overall, 1-1-0 HL) will look to move up in the league rankings by notching victories over two other teams that each have one HL win.

Detroit will arrive in Indianapolis Friday to take on Butler (5-8-0 overall, 1-1-0 HL). The Titans trail the Bulldogs 7-15-0 all-time, but they'll enter the contest with a 2-5 home record this season. Butler opened its conference schedule with a 3-0 win over Green Bay but dropped a 1-0 decision to pre-season league favorite Milwaukee, both at home.

Last season the Titans faced the Bulldogs twice. First, during the regular season, Detroit fell 3-2 at Titan Field. After falling behind, 3-0, UDM mounted a late, furious comeback and Kochanski scored two goals in the final minutes, but the Titans fell just short. Kochanski recorded four shots on goal in the game, and Alison Suschak had one assist. The teams next met in the opening round of the league tournament where Butler rolled to a 6-1 victory before being downed by Loyola in the semi-finals. Junior Arachana Wadhawan (Troy, MI/Troy) scored UDM's lone goal and Stanksi got the assist.

The Bulldogs are led by senior Molly Kruger who has 10 points on four goals and two assists this year. She also leads the team with 26 shots and 12 shots on goal. In Butler's win over Green Bay, Kruger tallied two goals and put four of her five shots on goal. Senior Lindsey Fox and freshman Katie Griswold are tied for the second on the team with three goals apiece, and senior Carrie Twyman leads the Bulldogs with four assists. Junior keeper Jessica Schein has logged 1,070 minutes in net while allowing 15 goals and making 44 saves. She has posted one shutout and her 1.26 goals against average is second in the league.

On Sunday Detroit will venture to Valparaiso for a date with the Crusaders (4-8-0 overall, 1-3-0 HL). Valpo is 2-3 at home this season, and their lone league win over Green Bay, by a score of 2-0, came at home.

The Titans are 4-1-0 all-time against the Crusaders, and prevailed 2-1 at in Detroit last season. Stanski accounted for one goal and one assist in the win, and Roffey made good on her only shot in that contest and recorded her first career goal.

Youth leads the way for Valpo, as freshemn Luisa Desario and Rachel Hoaglin are tied for the team lead with eight points. Desario is the team leader with four goals, 32 shots and 11 shots on goal, and Hoaglin has scored three goals and has two assists. Senior Jackie Kondratko's three assists leads the Crusaders and her 10 shots on goal is second on the team. Senior Mele Cabral has allowed 18 goals in 1,072 minutes while making 53 saves and sports a 1.51 goals against average. Her three shutouts are third-best in the HL.

GETTING THE OFFENSE ROLLING
During the homestretch of their non-conference schedule the Titans faced some offensive struggles, but in their first two league matches they didn't seem to be in much of a rut.

Despite being unable to find the back of the net against Cleveland State, Detroit reached double digits in shots (12) for the first time since a 2-1 victory over IPFW on Sept. 13, when the final shot tally was 13, including nine on goal. The Titans followed that up by putting up a season high three goals on Youngstown State and taking a season high 20 shots. It marked the first time UDM put up double digits in shots in back-to-back games for the firs time since the Titans did it in three straight from Sept. 8-13 against Eastern Michigan (14 shots), IUPUI (13) and IPFW (13).

Against Cleveland State and Youngstown State the Titans tallied three of their eight goals on the season, 33 of their 118 shots and 14 of their 62 shots on goal.

Freshman Nina Carter (Clinton Twp., MI/Chippewa Valley) continues to lead Detroit with six points on three goals, two of which were game-winners. Carter also leads the team with 14 shots on goal and is second in shots with 21. Stanski has taken over the team lead in shots with 23 after taking 12 over the last two games, including five on goal, and her 10 shots on goal is second.

Dzuris, Pidgeon and Alexandra Suschak are all tied for second with six points. Dzuris and Pidgeon have each scored a pair of goals and Alexandra Suschak has one goal and two assists, which is tied for the team lead with Korson. Stanski and Kochanski round out the Titans' point leaders with one point each on one assist.

AMONG THE LEADERS
As a team, UDM leads the Horizon League with 81 saves, and Hinde is the individual leader having stopped 78. Hinde is second in the league in save percentage (.812) and tied for fifth with two shutouts. She is also tied for 19th in NCAA Divison I for saves in a game after making 14 in a 1-0 loss to Hawaii on Sept. 24.

Offensively, Carter is tied for the league lead with two game-winning goals, and her three goals is tied for seventh in the HL. Meanwhile, Stanski's 23 shots has her tied for 10th in the conference and Alexandra Suschak's two assists are also tied for 10th.

THE LEAGUE
Detroit is currently tied for fifth in the Horizon League with three points. Joining the Titans are both of this weekend's opponents, Butler and Valparaiso. Wright State and Milwaukee are tied atop the league standings with nine points apiece, as both teams boast 3-0-0 league records. Wright State is 8-4-2 overall while Milwaukee is 5-5-3. Loyola (3-9-2 overall, 2-2-2 HL) is third with eight points, and Cleveland State (2-9-1 overall, 1-1-1 HL) is fourth with four points. Green Bay (2-8-2 overall, 0-2-1 HL) has one point and sits in eighth, while Youngstown State (3-6-2 overall, 0-2-0 HL) brings up the rear.