Gameday Central

DETROIT (10/29/2014) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team enters this week riding a four-game shutout streak and is in prime position entering the last two weeks of regular season play. Detroit hosts Bowling Green in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m., before traveling to Tennessee to play Belmont on Saturday in a Horizon League match.
 
Detroit (8-4-3, 5-1 Horizon League) has out-scored its opponents, 7-0, in its past four matches and has a shutout streak of 411 minutes dating back to a 1-1 tie against IPFW on Oct. 7. The Titans are in second place in the Horizon League regular-season standings, one point behind first-place Oakland (5-0-1 HL). Detroit is 3-1-1 in its first five home games this season.
 
The Titans can clinch a first-round bye and a No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Championship with a win or a tie against Belmont on Saturday. UDM is also still alive for a regular season championship and a No. 1 seed as both the Titans and Golden Grizzlies each have two HL games left on their slate. 

Titans No. 8 in Regional Rankings
Detroit jumped one spot in the NSCAA Division I regional rankings, which were released on Tuesday. The Titans are No. 8 in the Great Lakes region after entering the rankings at No. 9 last week. The ranking in the top 10 of the region is the first time for the Titans since the 2006 season. Detroit is the highest-ranked Horizon League team in the regional rankings, one spot ahead of Valparaiso (No. 9).

Last Week's Recap
The Titans earned two shutouts last week, drawing on the road in a non-conference matchup at Michigan, 0-0. Goalkeeper Nathan Steinwascher made a season-high tying eight saves, including two in overtime, while freshman Spiro Pliakos had a game-high seven shots during the contest.

Detroit concluded the week with a dominating 3-0 win over Cleveland State on Senior Day at Titan Field. Senior Matt Ybarra assisted on two goals, while Pliakos, Adam Clauss and Jacob Prud'homme each found the back of the net for the Titans. Detroit didn't allow a shot on goal during the game for the first time all season.

National / League Leaders
The Titans rank 14th in the nation in save percentage (83.5 percent), while holding a No. 45 ranking in the country in goals against average (0.88). In net, Nathan Steinwascher ranks first in the conference and 16th in the country in save percentage (82.9 percent). He also ranks first in the Horizon League in total saves (63) and saves per game (4.5) and is tied for first in the league with six shutouts.

Spiro Pliakos is second in the conference in assists with seven, while Matt Ybarra is tied for third with six assists on the season entering Wednesday's match. Pliakos is also tied for third in the Horizon League with 15 points. 

Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons are 9-5-1 overall but 0-3-1 in their past four games, most recently losing road contests at Ohio State (3-0) on Oct. 22 and at West Virginia (2-1) on Oct. 25. BGSU last earned a win over Cleveland State, 1-0, in overtime on Oct. 7.

Pat Flynn is one of the leading goal-scorers in the country with 12 goals. He has added three assists for 27 points overall this season, and also has five game-winning goals. Joe Sullivan has four goals and five assists for 13 points, while Danny Baraldi has four goals for BGSU. Nick Landsberger (9 GS, 1.07 GAA) and Ryan Heuton (6 GS, 0.49 GAA) have combined for six shutouts this season in goal for the Falcons.

Scouting Belmont
In their first season in the Horizon League, the Bruins are 3-13 overall with a 1-5 Horizon League mark. Belmont earned its first Horizon League victory on Oct. 25, defeating Green Bay at home, 2-1, in double overtime. Overall this season, the Bruins are 2-3 at home versus a 1-10 mark away from Nashville, Tenn.

Belmont has been out-scored this season, 33-10. Nat Hubert, Diego Figueroa and Rashad Hyacenth all have two goals apiece to lead Belmont. Grayson Rector has started 15 of the 16 games in goal for the Bruins and has recorded two shutouts to go along with a 2.02 GAA.

All-Time Series
The Titans are 8-16-2 all-time against the Falcons, which includes a 2-1 victory last season in Bowling Green, Ohio. Zach Atwood scored the first Titan goal in that game, while Matt DeVries and Tyler Moorman each assisted on the game-winning goal by Adam Bedell. The Falcons won the last match between the two schools in Detroit, earning a 4-1 win on Sept. 21, 2011.

Detroit and Belmont are meeting for the first time in men's soccer.

Honors for Steinwascher
Goalkeeper Nathan Steinwascher was selected as the Outstanding Defensive Player at the UNLV Nike Invitational after helping lead the Titans to the tournament win. Steinwascher recorded his first shutout of the season in the 0-0 tie against UNLV in the tournament's second game. Steinwascher also made seven saves in Detroit's 2-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton in the opener of the tournament. Steinwascher faced 32 shots overall on the weekend and finished the event with 11 saves in net. Additionally, he was named the Horizon League Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 15.

Steinwascher was also named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 29 after helping lead UDM to a 2-1 win vs. Wright State. Steinwascher made three saves in the game and helped limit a potent WSU offense that entered league play second in shots and goals.

First Collegiate Goals
Six Titans have scored their first collegiate goals this season. Sophomore midfielders Adam Clauss and Matt DeVries each scored their first collegiate goals in Detroit's season-opening victory at Western Michigan. DeVries scored the game's first goal in the second half against the Broncos, while Clauss scored the game-winning tally in overtime. Clauss, who missed his freshman season because of an injury, was also playing in his first career game for the Titans.

Freshman midfielder Spiro Pliakos added his first collegiate goal in UDM's win over Cal State Fullerton. His tally in the 81st minute also proved to be the game-winning goal. Sophomore midfielder Tommy Bowman also found the back of the net for his first goal at UDM, scoring in the 45th minute, just seven seconds before halftime, at Buffalo.

Freshman forward Don Nakashima is the fifth Titan to record his first career goal this season. Nakashima scored the game-winning goal in Detroit's 2-1 victory in its league-opener against Wright State on Sept. 27.

Junior defender Jacob Prud'homme is the sixth Detroit player to score his first collegiate goal. Prud'homme scored in the 87th minute of Detroit's 3-0 victory over Cleveland State on Oct. 25.

Upcoming Schedule
Detroit finishes the regular season with three road contests in seven days, playing at Belmont on Nov. 1 and at IUPUI on Nov. 4. UDM wraps up its regular season on the road again, traveling to Milwaukee to face the Panthers on Nov. 7.

Social Media
Titan fans don't forget to follow #DetroitsCollegeTeam on Twitter and Instagram at @DetroitTitans and remember to like the Titans on Facebook. Also follow the UDM men's soccer Twitter account at @UDMSoccer.