Gameday Central  |  Season Preview

DETROIT (8/28/2014) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's soccer team travels to IPFW on Friday for its second-straight road contest of the 2014 season. The Titans (0-1-0) opened their season last week, falling 3-1 to Toledo on the road.

Following Detroit's match at IPFW on Friday, the Titans will entertain Central Michigan University for its home opener at 1 p.m. Sunday. Detroit enters the 2014 season with a 12-game win streak at home.

Home Openers
Detroit is 11-8-2 all-time in home openers. The Titans opened up the 2013 season with a 3-0 victory at home against Bowling Green. Kaitlyn Quarrell, Jennifer Borawski and Abby McCollum all scored goals in the victory, while Martha Dunbar and the Titan defense didn't allow a shot on goal to preserve the shutout.

Detroit was about as good as you can be at home during the 2013 season. UDM didn't allow a goal in eight games, posting eight shutout victories and outscoring opponents 22-0.

Scouting IPFW
The Mastodons are bringing back nine starters and 14 letterwinners overall from last year's team. IPFW was 6-12-1 in 2013 under first-year head coach Jason Burr. The Mastodons dropped their first contest this season, falling 3-0 at Ball State. IPFW went 1-0-1 during preseason play, tying Northern Illinois and defeating UIC, 2-0.

Among the starters returning for IPFW, junior midfielder Gaby Romo tallied four goals and nine points and junior Brooke Bishir posted two goals for the Mastodons last season. Junior goalkeeper Sam Pavlika started all 19 games last season and made nine saves in the season-opener against Ball State.

The Titans are 8-1 all-time against IPFW. Detroit has won the last six and is 4-1 in games played in Fort Wayne. UDM has scored multiple goals in all of the victories. The two teams last met in 2009.

Scouting Central Michigan
The Chippewas are 0-2 after dropping games at Illinois State and DePaul. Central Michigan, which has just seven upperclassmen on its roster, allowed five goals in a loss to Illinois State on Aug. 24. Emily Cooksey and Eliza Van De Kerkhove have each tallied goals for Central Michigan through two games. CMU has been out-shot in its first two games, 45-7. Central Michigan is coming off an 8-11-1 season in 2013, which was its first with head coach Peter McGahey.

The Titans are 2-8-3 all-time against Central Michigan. Detroit and the Chippewas tied 2-2 in two overtimes last season. Anna Mindling scored the first two goals of her career in the tie against CMU. Detroit's last victory against the Chippewas came in a 2-1 win on Aug. 29, 2004 in Mount Pleasant.

First Career Goal
Suzie Redick did her best to make an impression in her first collegiate game. After entering the game as a substitution midway in the first half in the season-opener against Toledo, Redick received a pass from Anna Mindling and found the back of the net for her first career goal. Her goal in the 36th minute briefly tied the game against the Rockets.

Senior Class
Detroit has five seniors entering the 2014 season. Haley Burtraw, Alyssa Lotito, Alyssa Riley, Victoria Sollestre and Abbey Troy are all entering their senior seasons for the Titans.

Riley has started all 57 games she has played in during her Titan career, scoring 12 goals and adding 11 assists for 37 points. She enters the season on the verge of entering the top 10 in program history in goals, assists and points.

Burtraw has six goals and two assists in 37 starts in two seasons for Detroit. Lotito led the team and conference in assists last seaosn with 11 on her way to earning Second Team All-Horizon League honors. Sollestre has been a staple on the back line for Detroit, making 43 starts throughout her career. Troy has played in 31 games during her career and made 10 starts for the Titans during the 2013 season.

Detroit Selected to Finish Third in Poll
The Titans were selected to finish in fourth place in the Horizon League preseason coaches' poll, which is voted on by the league's head coaches. Coaches could not vote of their own team in the poll.

Milwaukee was picked to win the conference, earning six first-place votes, while Oakland and Wright State each received one first-place vote and were tabbed to place second and third in the conference, respectively. Detroit received 46 votes overall.

Gameday Central
Titan fans can follow every UDM game this season through Women's Soccer Gameday Central. This page will feature links for live stats, video streaming (when applicable), social media as well as the latest information on each team.

Home Opener Admission
Admission for all UDM women's soccer home games is free.