DETROIT (11/5/2015) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team closes out the regular season Friday, hosting Belmont at 2 p.m. in a pivotal Horizon League matchup. The game is set to be broadcasted on ESPN3.com and the Watch ESPN Application.
The Titans (6-4-8, 2-1-5 HL) are currently in a tie for fifth place heading into the final day of the Horizon League season. The top six teams in the conference qualify for the Horizon League Championships. UDM can clinch a playoff spot with a win or a draw against the Bruins.
Detroit, ranked No. 10 in the NSCAA Great Lakes regional rankings, had a three-match win streak snapped Tuesday when the Titans dropped a 4-0 contest to nationally-ranked Kentucky on the road. The No. 12-ranked Wildcats held a 20-2 shot advantage and scored two goals in each half.
| Game 19 | Detroit (6-4-8, 2-1-5 HL) vs. Belmont (4-12-2, 1-6-1 HL) |
| Dates | Friday, Nov. 6 | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| Locations | Detroit, Mich. | Titan Field | Admission is FREE |
| Live Stats | DetroitTitans.com |
| Stream / TV | ESPN3.com & Watch ESPN |
| Social Media | Twitter (In-game tweets): @DetroitTitans | @UDMSoccer | Facebook
Instagram | |
| All-Time Series | Detroit leads, 1-0 | Last Meeting: Detroit 1, Belmont 0 (Nov. 1, 2014) |
Horizon League Championship ScenariosDetroit can earn a spot in the Horizon League Championship with a victory or draw against Belmont on Friday. The Titans could place as high as fourth in the Horizon League regular-season standings depending on how the rest of the league schedule on Friday plays out. If Detroit finishes as the No. 4 seed, it would host a tournament game on Monday. The Titans are currently in a tie for fifth place with Cleveland State and just two points behind both Oakland and Wright State.
Titan Tidbits• The Titans entered the NSCAA Great Lakes regional rankings this week, sitting at No. 10 in the poll. Detroit is one of three Horizon League squads in the poll with UIC at No. 6 and Northern Kentucky at No. 8. It's the second-straight season that UDM has been included in the poll. Detroit spent four-straight weeks towards the end of 2014 in the regional polls, climbing as high as No. 8 last year.
• Detroit is 6-2-6 in its last 14 matches. The Titans had a nine-match unbeaten streak during the season, which was the longest as a program since 1993.
• The Titans are one draw away from the NCAA single-season record of nine, which is shared by five other teams. It was most recently done by UC-Davis in 2014.
• Detroit has played in 10 overtimes matches so far this season (1-1-8), including six of its seven matches at Titan Field. Detroit's 1-0 regulation win over Milwaukee on Senior Day was the first time all season that UDM hasn't played in an overtime contest this year.
• UDM's shutout against Milwaukee last weekend was its fifth of the season.
• The Titans rank first in the Horizon League in saves with 93. Senior goalkeeper
Nathan Steinwascher is first in the Horizon League in saves (81) and saves per game (5.06). Steinwascher also leads the league with 45 stops in HL-only games. He is third in the conference in save percentage (80.2). Steinwascher is one shutout behind Kal Kaliszewski for the most all time (19) in Detroit history with his four clean sheets this year.
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Tyler Moorman has a team-leading five goals, which is the most by a Detroit men's soccer player since Adam Bedell's eight goals in 2013.
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Spiro Pliakos ranks is tied for first in the conference with six assists.
• Senior defender
Jason Leslie is the only player on the squad to start all 18 matches. He has played in all but 22 minutes this season (he came out of the game for the final 22 minutes against Kentucky).
• Detroit's 28 shots against Northern Kentucky is the highest total by a team in a Horizon League match this year.
• The Titans have had three Horizon League Player of the Weeks this season.
Nathan Steinwascher is a two-time HL Defensive Player of the Week, earning the award on Sept. 21 and Nov. 2, while
Spiro Pliakos was selected as the HL Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 14.
Stat of the Week81 -
Nathan Steinwascher leads the Horizon League with 81 total saves. He also ranks first in saves per game and total saves in conference-only matches.
Scouting BelmontThe Bruins are coming off a 4-1 loss to regular-season champions UIC. The match against Detroit is Belmont's regular-season finale as well. Belmont is 1-5-1 in road contests this year. The Bruins do have the top goal-scorer in the conference as Rasha Hyacenth has tallied seven goals on 67 shots this year. Belmont has given up 31 goals this year and is being out-shot this season, 184-225. Goalkeeper Grayson Rector has played in 14 games for Belmont, making 50 saves and holds a 70.4 save percentage with two shutouts.
All-Time SeriesDetroit and Belmont met for the first time in 2014, with the Titans earning a 1-0 victory in Tennessee.
Adam Clauss' PK goal was the difference in the match and
Nathan Steinwascher earned the shutout in net for Detroit.
#HLMSOC Standings1. UIC 6-0-2 -- 20 points
2. Northern Kentucky 4-1-3 -- 15 points
3. Wright State 4-3-1 -- 13 points
Oakland 4-3-1 -- 13 points
5. Detroit 2-1-5 -- 11 points Cleveland State 3-3-2 -- 11 points7. Valparaiso 2-3-3 -- 9 points
8. Green Bay 2-4-2 -- 8 points
9. Milwaukee 1-5-2 -- 5 points
10. Belmont 1-6-1 -- 4 points
- Top six teams make the Horizon League Championships -
Steinwascher Chosen as Candidate for Senior Class AwardSenior goalkeeper
Nathan Steinwascher was chosen as one of 30 candidates for the 2015 Senior Class Award in Divison I men's soccer earlier this season. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release. Steinwascher is the only Horizon League soccer student-athlete -- men's or women's -- to be among the 2015 candidates for the award.
The Sterling Heights, Mich. native has already completed his undergraduate degree in Accounting with a 3.63 GPA. He's currently enrolled in an MBA program and holds a 3.46 GPA.
Titans Selected to Finish Fifth in Horizon LeagueThe University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team was selected to finish fifth in the Horizon League as the 2015 preseason poll. The poll was voted on by the league's head coaches. Detroit, which earned a share of the Horizon League regular-season title in 2014, received 47 points in the poll.
The reigning league champions, Oakland, was picked to finish first after earning five of 10 first-place votes. Four different teams collected first-place votes in the poll. Valparaiso (64 points) and Wright State (63 points) were behind the Golden Grizzlies in second and third, respectively, each garnering two first-place tallies. Milwaukee received the final first place vote and was selected ahead of Detroit with 52 points.
Head CoachDetroit men's soccer head coach
Nicholas Deren '99 returns for his sixth full season in 2015. He has earned two regular season titles in the past three seasons with the Titans, helping lead Detroit to the outright title in 2012 before leading the team to a share in 2014. He has 45 victories in his head coaching tenure at Detroit, including 21 in Horizon League play.
Record BooksSenior goalkeeper
Nathan Steinwascher entered his senior season in the top-three in several statistical categories. Steinwascher is third all-time in total saves at 337 and is 22 behind Titan Hall of Famer Kal Kaliszewski for second in saves. Steinwascher's 18 career shutouts has tied Sasha Boskovic for second all-time in shutouts and the senior is one back of Kaliszewski for the most clean sheets (19) in Titan history.
Steinwascher also entered 2015 second in career goals against average (1.29) and third in save percentage (77.6) and is among the NCAA active career leader in several statistical categories. He is No. 2 on the active career saves list behind IUPUI's Eduardo Cortes. He became the third goalkeeper in Detroit men's soccer history to reach the 300-save plateau for his career earlier this year.
Spiro Pliakos, in just his sophomore season, is quickly moving up the record books in assists. The forward leads the squad with six helpers this season and has 13 career assists, which puts him in a tie for 19th in Detroit men's soccer history.
