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2013 Gameday Central
Preseason Video Interview
DETROIT (8/25/13) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's soccer team will continue its non-conference regular season schedule Sunday afternoon at the CMU Soccer Complex at Central Michigan University against the Chippewas at 5:00 p.m. UDM opened the season on Friday at Eastern Michigan falling by a score of 3-2.
Where We Left Off
The Titans finished 9-7-1 overall in 2012 and were 5-2 in Horizon League play. UDM finished with a share of the regular season title but entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed behind Milwaukee due to tiebreakers. Detroit allowed a Titan single-season low 12 goals from opponents and just three in the conference recording shutouts against Green Bay, Loyola, Wright State, Cleveland State and Youngstown State. The Titans fell in the Horizon League Semifinal match for the third straight season and will look to avenge the loss in 2013.
The 2013 Titans
The 2013 UDM women's soccer team features 22 girls including eight newcomers under head coach Mike Lupenec. The team has three seniors including 2012 Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year and All-Horizon League First Team member Kaitlyn Quarrell and 2012 All-Horizon League Second Teamer Abby McCollum. Other Horizon League award winners returning this season will be junior midfielder Alyssa Riley, who also took home All-Horizon League First Team honors in 2012, and sophomore defender Heather Brown who made the All-Newcomer team her freshman season. Other key contributors returning include Haley Burtraw, Jennifer Borawski, Victoria Sollestre, Abbey Troy, Martha Dunbar, and Tatum Zurawski. The group of Ashley Welch, Chauné Rael-Whitsitt, and Ellyn Nedwicki will also come back for another year along with Alyssa Lotito, who makes her return to the squad after not playing last season.
Newcomers
UDM will welcome eight newcomers in 2013. Among the new faces will be sophomore Sara Zawacki who transferred to Detroit from Horizon League rival Milwaukee. Zawacki returns to the metro Detroit area as she is a Marian High School grad and calls Dearborn home. The freshmen list for the new season includes goalkeeper Laura Taylor along with field players Anna Mindling, Mary LeAnnais, Aubrey Formica, Carley Rice, Kristen Tobin, and Kaitlan Vossen.
Titans are the Early Favorite
The Titans will have new pressure this season after being picked as the team to win the Horizon League in a poll conducted by the league coaches. The poll results break a streak of 13 straight years that Milwaukee has been picked first. This year, Detroit garnered six of seven first place votes for 47 overall points. Wright State was second with one first place vote and 38 points with five-time Horizon League women's soccer defending champion Milwaukee taking the other first place vote and 36 points. Horizon League newcomer Oakland was picked fourth (32) followed by Valparaiso (31), Youngstown State (16), Green Bay (15), and Cleveland State (9).
Road Warriors
The Titans will play the first seven games of 2013 away from Titan Field. After this weekend, UDM will head to California to play at Cal-Berkeley and at San Francisco. Detroit will then continue non-conference road action at Canisius in Buffalo, N.Y. before heading to South Bend, Ind. to face Notre Dame. The road swing will end in Ann Arbor with the Titans facing Michigan on Sept. 12. The home opener for UDM is on Sept. 17 against Bowling Green at 3:00 p.m.
About the Eagles
Eastern Michigan is 7-6-4 all-time against Detroit with the last game being two years ago on Titan Field when UDM won a 4-0 game on Aug. 23, 2011. EMU finished 11-6-2 overall last season and 8-3 in the MAC. The Eagles were the No. 3 team in the MAC Tournament but could not advance past the quarterfinal after falling to Toledo on penalty kicks.
About the Chippewas
Central Michigan was 15-7-1 overall in 2012 and 10-2 in the MAC. The Chippewas fell 2-1 in the MAC Championship to Miami (Ohio) but still earned a bid in the NCAA Tournament. Central Michigan did not have to go far in the opening round and faced Michigan in Ann Arbor with the Wolverines winning a 2-1 game in overtime. The Chippewas are 8-2-2 all-time against the Titans with the last match-up between the two teams last year in the season opener for both teams when CMU won a 1-0 game on its home field. Central Michigan will play with heavy hearts this year as team member Josie Seebeck passed away on Aug. 4 following an automobile accident. Seebeck was going to be a sophomore this season after playing in 14 games and earning MAC All-Freshman team honors as a freshman in 2012.
