DETROIT, Mich. (10/6/15) – Senior Alyssa Lotito scored off a free kick in the 99^th minute to give the University of Detroit Mercy women's soccer team a hard-fought 3-2 overtime victory against Madonna on Tuesday afternoon from Titan Field.
 
The Titan offense was firing on all cylinders throughout the game as Detroit tallied a season-high 29 shots, 18 of which came on goal.
 
Sophomore Phylisha Drayton scored midway through the first half for the game's first goal, before a header from Tatum Zurawski found the net to give Detroit a 2-0 lead before halftime.
 
Trailing 2-0, Madonna's Kelly Capoccia scored a pair of goals to erase the deficit and knot the game at 2-2. The game would head to overtime, before Lotito's heroics ended the game.
 
Lotito finished the game with a goal and assist, while Drayton and Zurawski each registered a goal. Junior Anna Mindling capped the point-scorers for UDM with an assist.
 
Freshman Claudia Eustaquio played the first half in net and made one save while allowing one goal. Senior Martha Dunbar relieved Eustaquio at half and picked up the win after making two saves and allowing one goal.
 
How it Happened:
• Both offenses opened the match quietly, with Madonna recording the first shot of the game in the 11^th minute.
• Madonna nearly netted the game's first goal in the 12^th minute, but Witt's sweeping shot from just outside of the box turned away from the upper left corner.
• Detroit scored first in the 20^th minute. Mindling sent a lead pass from midfield and Drayton flew through the defense to catch up with the ball. Drayton took one touch past a charging keeper, before slipping the ball into the net uncontested.
• In the 41^st minute, Lotito swung in a corner kick and found Zurawski, who skied above the defense and headed the ball into the lower right corner of the net to push the Titans' lead to 2-0.
• Just moments later, Madonna's leading scorer, Kelly Capoccia, cut Detroit's lead in half with a goal in the 43^rd minute. Two quick passes found an open Capoccia, who went top-shelf from inside the box for the Crusaders' first score.
• In the 63^rd minute, Capoccia, a transfer from Grand Valley State, forced an untimely Detroit turnover in the Titans' defensive box and netted her second goal of the game. The goal was her 13^th of the season to tie the game 2-2.
• Capoccia kept the pedal to the floor, tearing through the Titans back line and ripping a shot toward the left post, but a sprawled-out Dunbar made the diving save to keep the game knotted at 2-2 in the 67^th minute.
• The game intensified at the end of regulation, with Detroit reeling off four shots in the final minutes. Schmalenberg denied each chance to send the game to extras.
• In overtime, senior Jennifer Borawski split the defense and ripped a shot off, but her shot was saved and ricocheted to Mindling, who blasted a shot from tight quarters and caught the bottom of the crossbar before staying out.
• In the ninth minute of overtime, senior Sara Zawacki earned a free kick for Detroit just outside the right side of the box. Lotito stepped in and sent a curling ball over the defensive line and caught the inside of the left post, before the ball deflected in for the golden goal.
 
Leading the Titans
• Lotito led UDM with a goal and assist for a team-high three points.
• Drayton scored her third goal of the season, while Zurawski added her second.
• Mindling picked up an assist and registered a season-high eight shots for Detroit, four of which came on goal.
• Borawski and Drayton each tallied five shots, with four and three on net, respectively.
• Zawacki rounded out the top attackers for Detroit with three shots.
• Dunbar picked up her first win of the season after making two saves.
 
Inside the Box Score
• Detroit registered five scoring chances in overtime, while limiting Madonna to zero, before Lotito's golden goal.
• The Titans held the edge in shots (29-8), shots on goal (18-5) and corner kicks (7-1).
• Schmalenberg made a career-high 15 saves in the loss for Madonna.
• Each team was whistled for three offside calls.
 
Titan News & Notes
• The 29-shot outburst from Detroit is the highest total of the season. The 18 shots on goal are also a season-high.
• With an assists in three consecutive games, Lotito climbed up to 7^th in the all-time record book at Detroit. Her 20 career assists are three away from the sixth-highest total in program history.  
• Lotito now has five assists on the season and is tied for 2nd in the Horizon League in total assists.
• Eight different Titans have scored a goal in 2015, with all eight players registering at least two goals.
• Detroit is a perfect 7-0 all-time against Madonna.
• Tuesday was the first time Detroit had given up a goal to Madonna in the series' brief history since 2008.
• The Titans have won five of the seven contests against MU by at least two goals.
 
Home Cooking
The Titans are 30-7-3 in home games since the beginning of the 2011 season. Detroit had a 16-match unbeaten streak (15-0-1) across three years snapped late last season in a 1-0 loss to Northern Kentucky. The Titans finished the 2014 season 4-2-1 at home and are 5-2-1 in 2015.
 
Defensively, Detroit has recorded 19 total shutouts in its last 27 matches at Titan Field dating back to 2012.

Up Next
Detroit returns to Titan Field on Saturday, Oct. 10 to square off with UIC in the Titans' Pink Game. The Horizon League match is set to begin at 1 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN3.
 
 

WSOC I LOTITO!!!! Game-winner off a free kick! @DetroitWSOC wins in OT, 3-2. pic.twitter.com/AwErAqpwiJ

— Detroit Titans (@detroittitans) October 6, 2015