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University of Detroit Mercy Athletics

Spiro Pliakos
Jose Juarez
Freshman Spiro Pliakos battles with a Wright State player in Thursday's semifinal.

Men's Soccer

Titans Fall in Horizon League Semifinals to Wright State

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ROCHESTER, Mich. (11/13/2014) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team fell in the semifinals of the 2014 Horizon League Men's Soccer Championship on Thursday as Wright State University earned a 2-0 win over the Titans at Oakland Soccer Stadium on the campus of Oakland University. Following the conclusion of the tournament, freshman forward Spiro Pliakos and sophomore midfielder Aidan Kuhls were each selected to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team.

The second-seeded Titans (9-7-4) out-shot the third-seeded Raiders in both halves of the match, but couldn't find the back of the net. UDM, the regular season co-champions with a 6-2 conference record, was playing in its second conference semifinals match in the past three seasons.

Detroit had a strong offensive chance in the 15th minute as freshman Spiro Pliakos (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester) gained the edge on the right side of the box, but he fired his shot wide of the net. The Titans had the only two shots of the game in the opening 25 minutes.

Wright State (12-6-2) scored both goals in a seven-minute span in the first half. WSU scored the first goal off a corner kick from Eric Lynch, who found Emeka Ononye on a header for the score in the 26th minute. The Raiders added another in the 34th minute as Lynch hit a ball that deflected off a Detroit defender and into the left corner of the goal.

Detroit had several good looks in the second half, but was unable to capitalize. UDM's best shot on goal came off a corner kick by senior Matt Ybarra (Irvine, Calif. / Ann Arbor Huron) in the 67th minute of the match. Ybarra's kick went to the back post, where junior defender Jason Leslie (Troy, Mich. / Troy) was waiting. Leslie headed the ball but it bounced off the post and was cleared away. Earlier in the second half, Leslie received the ball in the box off a free kick, but his shot was saved by Wright State goalkeeper Tyler Blackmer.

The Titans had 13 shots total during the contest, including four shots on goal. Ybarra had two shots on goal for Detroit. Junior defender Jacob Prud'homme (South Lyon, Mich. / South Lyon) added four shots in the contest, while Pliakos and Leslie each had two shots in the match. The Titans also had the edge in corner kicks, 4-3.

Detroit finished out the season with a strong campaign overall, having won the UNLV Invitational earlier in the season and totaling eight shutouts during the year, which was a league high and the most for a UDM men's soccer team since 2007. Detroit also earned its second regular season title in the past three seasons after winning the title out-right in 2012.

The Titans finished with the lowest goals against average (0.89) in program history. Detroit's previous low GAA was 1.11 set in 1996. UDM allowed just 19 goals in 20 games, also allowing the fewest number of goals in UDM men's soccer history.

The match was the final one for four Detroit players. Jesus Ginez, Trevor Flynn, Cameron Roberts and Matt Ybarra each competed in their final match for the Titans. The four players leave Detroit having earned two regular season titles and 26 wins overall across their four-year careers.
 
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Players Mentioned

Trevor Flynn

#17 Trevor Flynn

D
6' 3"
Senior
Jesus Ginez

#23 Jesus Ginez

F
6' 4"
Senior
Aidan Kuhls

#10 Aidan Kuhls

M
5' 8"
Sophomore
Jason Leslie

#3 Jason Leslie

D
6' 1"
Junior
Jacob Prud

#24 Jacob Prud'homme

D
6' 1"
Junior
Cameron Roberts

#8 Cameron Roberts

M
6' 0"
Senior
Matt Ybarra

#6 Matt Ybarra

M
5' 10"
Senior
Spiro Pliakos

#7 Spiro Pliakos

F
5' 8"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Trevor Flynn

#17 Trevor Flynn

6' 3"
Senior
D
Jesus Ginez

#23 Jesus Ginez

6' 4"
Senior
F
Aidan Kuhls

#10 Aidan Kuhls

5' 8"
Sophomore
M
Jason Leslie

#3 Jason Leslie

6' 1"
Junior
D
Jacob Prud

#24 Jacob Prud'homme

6' 1"
Junior
D
Cameron Roberts

#8 Cameron Roberts

6' 0"
Senior
M
Matt Ybarra

#6 Matt Ybarra

5' 10"
Senior
M
Spiro Pliakos

#7 Spiro Pliakos

5' 8"
Freshman
F