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DETROIT (9/27/2014) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team scored two second-half goals Saturday to earn a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Wright State University in the Titans' home opener at Titan Field. The game was also the Horizon League opener for both teams.

Trailing 1-0 after halftime, the Titans (4-3-1, 1-0 HL) came out as a different team in the second half, putting offensive pressure on Wright State's back line. Detroit finally broke through for a goal in the 72nd minute as sophomore Adam Clauss (Grand Haven, Mich. / Spring Lake) rocketed a ball into the back of the net off a corner kick by freshman Spiro Pliakos (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester). Clauss' second goal of the season tied the game, 1-1.

Detroit wasn't done, however, as freshman Don Nakashima (Novi, Mich. / Novi), who gave WSU all sorts of problems in the second half, knocked home a rebound just minutes later after senior Matt Ybarra's (Irvine, Calif. / Ann Arbor Huron) initial shot came off the post. Nakashima's first collegiate goal at 72:44 also proved to be the game-winner for the Titans.

UDM head coach Nicholas Deren '99 said that even trailing 1-0 at halftime, his players knew they could come back for the victory.

"We went after them in the second half," Deren said. "We didn't sit back. I'm going to pressure and play with two forwards. It was just playing to win a soccer game. At halftime we said, 'let's go win this soccer game.' They beleived they could win."

The Titans had four shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half, two of them on goal.

Wright State (5-3-1, 0-1 HL) had five victories in the first eight games of the season entering the match and was second in the conference in goals scored and shots taken. The Raiders scored the game's first goal in the 42nd minute off a free kick as Emeka Ononye headed the ball off the post and into the back of the net. The WSU assist went to Eric Lynch, the league leader in assists heading into Saturday's match.

But Detroit shut down the Wright State attack in the second half. UDM held the Raiders to just one shot in the second half and seven overall for the game. The Titans out-shot Wright State in the second half, 10-1.

The Raiders didn't even get a good look at the UDM goal in the final minutes of the game. Detroit gained possession of the ball consistently and held the ball in Wright State's end of the field. Detroit was able to basically run out the clock without Wright State ever having a real threat on the Titan net.

Nakashima came off the bench and had a game-high four shots, three of them on goal. Ybarra, Clauss and senior Cameron Roberts (Redford, Mich. / University of Detroit Jesuit) all each added two shots for the Titans. Pliakos tallied his team-high fourth assist of the season, while Ybarra collected his third helper of the 2014 campaign. After his goal Saturday, Clauss leads the Titans with two goals on the season.

In goal, senior goalkeeper Nathan Steinwascher (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stevenson) made three saves to earn his fourth win of the season. He's allowed just one goal in the past two games combined.

The Titans are back at home for their next contest, hosting Horizon League rival Oakland University for a 4 p.m. match on Wednesday, Oct. 1.