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DETROIT (8/28/2014) -- Like several other men's soccer teams in the Horizon League, the University of Detroit Mercy is a young squad entering the 2014 season. Twenty of Detroit's 30 players are underclassmen, including nine true freshmen on this year's team.
 
However, UDM head coach Nicholas Deren '99 knows that he has plenty of experience to go along with the youth on the squad.
 
Several players also return for Detroit, including seven players that made at least 12 starts for the Titans last season, and overall, 15 letter winners are back.  
 
"We have a big sophomore class that was here last year and saw it and a lot of them got some valuable minutes and were some of our main guys this year," Deren said. "A lot of them had good summers and our freshmen class is pretty strong as well. With the leadership from the seniors and juniors, it should be a pretty good year from that standpoint."
 
Detroit opens its regular season Friday at Western Michigan for a 5:00 p.m. match.
 
Defensive/Goalkeeper Preview
 
The Titans bring back several of their top defenders form last year's team, including senior Trevor Flynn, juniors Jason Leslie and Jacob Prud'homme, and sophomores Tyler Moorman and John D'Agostino. Two-year starting goalkeeper Nathan Steinwascher also returns in net for Detroit.
 
Detroit didn't allow a goal during its two exhibition victories over Northwood and Windsor.
 
"Our staple has always been defending here and we've looked pretty good so far through the two preseason games," Deren said.
 
Flynn started 14 of 18 games for the Titans in 2013, tallying one goal. He has played in 42 career games so far for UDM over his three-year career.
 
Leslie has scored five goals in two seasons for Detroit, starting 27 games during his first two campaigns, while Prud'homme started 12 games for Detroit in 2013, taking 15 shots on the season. 
 
Moorman started all 18 games during his freshman season, posting three points with one goal and one assist, and D'Agostino started four times as a freshman, playing in 12 games overall.
 
Nathan Steinwascher has started all 37 games in net for the Titans in the past two seasons. He played every minute in 2013, recording three shutouts and making 99 saves. He had a 77 percent save percentage.
 
"He knows what the level is and he knows how to command the team," Deren said of Steinwascher. "I think he feels pretty comfortable with his back line and the midfielders in front of him. It looks like he has some cohesion with those guys."
 
Backing up Nathan Steinwascher in goal is sophomore Robbie Beckwell and freshman Josh Flamme.
 
Nathan's brother Spencer Steinwascher, a sophomore, along with junior Alex Mendonca, sophomore Marcus Barnett and freshman Tyler Hughes provide depth to a deep back line.
 
Midfield/Offensive Preview
 
Detroit lost one of the top players in the league last year in Adam Bedell, who scored eight goals and totaled 21 points. After a great four-year career, Bedell was drafted by the Columbus Crew of the MLS, where he has played in 15 games netting a pair of goals. 
 
Returning however is senior midfielder Matt Ybarra to help lead a young offensive attack. Ybarra led the squad in assists with four in 2013, while adding a goal for six points. He started all 18 games last season and has played in every game during his three-year Titan career.
 
"Matt Ybarra makes our team go," Deren said. "He's out captain. He's done a great job. I'm probably going to play him more in an attacking role this year. We're looking for him to lead us and get some assists and goals and set the table for some of the other talented players that we have going forward."
 
Also returning in the midfield is senior Cameron Roberts, who started in 12 matches last season.
 
"Cameron Roberts will play a huge role in the middle of the field for us," Deren said. "He's one of the better players on the ball. He makes some really good decisions and I expect him to have his biggest year this year. He looks very sharp."
 
Sophomore Matt DeVries played in 17 games as a freshman in 2013, making five starts, and should be an important player for the Titans in 2014. Several of his classmates are also in the mix at midfield.
 
"I think it's a big year for Adam Clauss, after missing last year with an injury," Deren said. "Aidan Kuhl is playing well. Some of these freshmen that are now sophomores are sure showing some real promise. DeVries we can't live without. He needs to be on the field 90 minutes a game because of what he does for us. He keeps the lines together and really solidifies the midfield position. Tommy Bowman has also looked really sharp during the preseason."
 
At the forward position, the Titans are young with just two upperclassmen, but have some talented youngsters looking to provide some scoring punch.
 
"We have some freshmen that have some tremendous promise," Deren said of his forwards.
 
Junior Matt Harkema and senior Jesus Ginez are the most veteran of the group of forwards.
 
"Harkema missed all of last year with an injury but he's back and I'm expecting him to do a job up top for us and be the guy that we can depend upon for goals," Deren said. "Jesus should give us some minutes up top. This year he's a presence up there."
 
Sophomore Zach Atwood played in 17 games last season for UDM, scoring two goals. Freshmen forwards Jonathan Bohlman, Don Nakashima and Spiro Pliakos, among others, are looking to make contributions offensively for Detroit in 2014.
 
Conference Preview
 
Milwaukee won the conference tournament last season after UIC was crowned the regular season champions. Both teams should be in the hunt as favorites as the season begins.
 
Even so, Deren believes that many teams will be in the mix after several of the league's top players graduated following the 2013 season.
 
"The conference is a bit younger than it was last year," he said. "Last season, the conference was very senior-laden. Milwaukee looks like the team to beat again, them and UIC. They are both very good teams, well coached, and Milwaukee has the Player of the Year Laurie Bell coming back. It is a bit younger kind of like where we are at with some sophomores and freshmen with so many seniors leaving last year."
 
"I'm going to say it's wide open. I think that it's there for us if we want to walk through the door. But we have a job to do and we know that and our players are hungry to do it."
 
Detroit opens league play at home with Wright State on Sept. 27. It'll be UDM's first home game of the season after the Titans open with seven games on the road.
 
After its season-opener at Western Michigan, Detroit travels to Dayton, Ohio, for games against Northern Kentucky and Dayton on Sept. 5 and Sept. 7. Then it's a trip to Las Vegas to battle Cal State Fullerton and UNLV on Sept. 12 and Sept. 14, respectively. The road trip ends with a Sept. 19 date at Buffalo and a road match at Niagara on Sept. 21.
 
Deren believes the trip could help the team as they approach the league slate.
 
"It's great for team building," Deren said. "It's good for getting the group together, being on the road, in the hotel, on busses. It's good for them. I think that when you play a tough road schedule early in the year, it's a double-edged sword. If you don't do well, some confidence might go down, but if you compete well and play well, it can help carry you through a very tough conference schedule."