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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Titans (12-5-2, 5-2-1 Horizon League) played to a 0-0 draw in the regular season finale at Cleveland State (9-6-2, 2-3-2 Horizon League) Sunday afternoon. The tie, coupled along with the Wright State and Valparaiso 2-2 score, clinches the No. 2 seed for Detroit in the Horizon League Tournament.
 
With the No. 2 seed, the Titans earn a first round in the tournament and an automatic berth in the semifinals on Nov. 4 to be played in Milwaukee. Their opponent will be determined after the first round of games on Nov. 1. It marks the second straight year Detroit will play in the semifinal match.
 
“It's nice to be the second seed after the hard work of our team this year. We have had good results and this is a nice payoff for us. We were picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll and to finish higher than that is a great accomplishment,” said head coach Mike Lupenec.
 
A win in one of the final two games of the year would have secured the second seed outright for the Titans. Detroit's fate was uncertain until the Wright State/Valparaiso result was complete as both teams had the chance to move up into second place. That tie game took away a potential two points from each team and placed the Titans in the No. 2 spot. Otherwise, as the only conference team without any games remaining, Detroit would have had to wait until the final slate of Horizon League regular season games are played this Friday to determine its seed. 
 
In Sunday's match-up with Cleveland State, the first half was uneventful as the game featured play at both ends but no opportune chances either way. Detroit held a 4-0 shooting advantage in the opening frame with just one of those on goal coming off the head of Alexandra Suschak in the 31st minute.
 
In the 87th minute, Cleveland State had its best chance of the game but goaltender Nora Abolins made the save of the day to keep the score equal. Just outside its 18-yard box, Detroit deflected the ball and Kelcey Fischer of the Vikings took a low hard shot and Abolins made a cat-like save kicking the ball away to keep the game scoreless.
 
“We're struggling to score goals right now. Our forwards were locked in today by Cleveland State and we struggled against Wright State on Wednesday. We need to capitalize on our breakaways and come up with better scoring opportunities on our corner kicks and set pieces. Our defensive line played fairly well today and Nora made a big save when we needed it to keep us in the game,” added Lupenec.
 
The Titans played in just their third overtime match of the year. The last was a 4-3 double overtime defeat at Michigan State on Sept. 14. The other was Detroit's lone tie of the year that came on Sept. 2 in Reno, NV in a 0-0 draw against UNLV.
 
The shutout was the eighth of the season for Abolins. As a team, it was the 11^th this year and now two over the original team best of nine set in 2005. In 2011, the Detroit defense has allowed 13 goals in 19 games.
 
The Horizon League playoff scene will be finalized after Friday's Horizon League slate of games.