Box Score VALPARAISO, Ind. (10/25/2014) -- In a showdown between the top two teams in the Horizon League on Saturday, the University of Detroit Mercy women's soccer team dropped a hard-fought, 1-0 match against host Valparaiso University.
Even in the loss, Detroit (8-6-1, 5-2 Horizon League) clinched second place behind Valparaiso (11-1-4, 7-0 HL) in the Horizon League regular-season standings due to Green Bay's victory over Youngstown State. The Titans will be the No. 2 seed behind the Crusaders in the upcoming Horizon League Championships.
Detroit will get a first-round bye before playing in the semifinals of the tournament. It's the third time in the past four seasons that Detroit has placed as one of the top two teams in the Horizon League regular-season standings. The Titans have one league game remaining, hosting Milwaukee on Friday.
Neither team got on the scoreboard in the early portion of the match and just one shot was recorded on goal in the first half. Valparaiso upped the offensive pressure in the second half and scored the game's lone goal in the 70th minute off a header by Sarrah Ludwig. VU had 12 shots in the second half.
Junior midfielder
Jennifer Borawski (Northville, Mich. / Northville) tallied a game-high five shots during the match to lead Detroit. Senior defender
Haley Burtraw (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester) added two shots, including one on goal with 2:38 left on the clock in regulation.
Four of Detroit's eight shots came in the final 10 minutes of the match. Valparaiso finished the contest with 18 shots, including four on goal. The Crusaders also finished with five corner kicks, while the Titans had two corner kicks.
Detroit freshman goalkeeper
Marina Manzo (Washington Township, Mich. / Romeo) made three saves in net.
The defeat ended a five-game winning streak for Detroit, which was the longest for head coach Mike Lupenec's program since 2004.The Titans have two more games to conclude the regular season, hosting Northern Kentucky on Tuesday and Milwaukee on Friday. Both games are set for 3 p.m. starts. Detroit will host Senior Day prior to Friday's contest against the Panthers.
