The Basics
Score: Cleveland State 1, Detroit 0 (2OT)
Records: Detroit 7-5-8, Cleveland State 9-7-2
Location: Cleveland, Ohio (Krenzler Field)
DETROIT (11/9/2015) -- A strong defensive game kept a Horizon League Championship First Round matchup between the University of Detroit Mercy and Cleveland State scoreless for more than 100 minutes on Monday night. Detroit, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, played sound defensively all game long, but fourth-seeded Cleveland State capitalized on a strong chance in the box midway through the second overtime period for a 1-0 victory over the Titans.
Detroit (7-5-8) had a golden opportunity early in the first overtime as senior
Pat Smith (Livonia, Mich. / Livonia Stevenson) sent a ball across the box to sophomore
Guillermo Potti (Santiago of Chile, Chile / Fenton). The sophomore had the ball on his foot, but couldn't finish off the chance and pushed the ball wide of the net. Three of Detroit's 10 shots in the match came in the first overtime frame.
Just after Cleveland State (9-7-2) received a yellow card for a hard foul on Detroit senior goalkeeper
Nathan Steinwascher (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Stevenson), the Vikings were able to retain the ball and find life down the right side of the field. CSU's Jake Lagania found Hesham Hammouda with a ball into the box.
It took a great shot to beat the senior co-captain, Steinwascher, as Hammouda hit a hard, point-blank shot to the top of the net for the golden goal. Steinwascher was strong all night for the Titans, making a sprawling save on a shot to the corner of the goal in the 63rd minute and ending the game with four saves.
The game started out physical as Detroit received two yellow cards in the first 12 minutes of the match. Detroit's lone shot on goal came on sophomore
Tyler Hughes' (Macomb, Mich. / Henry Ford II) header in the 17th minute off a set piece. Classmate
Spiro Pliakos (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Rochester) sent a free kick into the box, but Hughes' diving header was turned away by CSU goalkeeper Alexsandar Drobac.
Senior defender
Austin Dunn (Perry, Mich. / Perry) -- who was named a First Team All-Horizon League player earlier Monday -- had a team-high-tying three shots. Hughes also had three shots for Detroit. The Titans played most of the second half without leading goal scorer
Tyler Moorman, who was injured in the first half.
The Titans, which were playing in their second-straight Horizon League postseason tournament, finished the season with a 7-5-8 record. It's the second-consecutive year that Detroit has wrapped up the year two games above the .500 mark. Detroit is 16-12-12 in the past two seasons, including a 9-3-5 mark in Horizon League play.
Detroit graduates six seniors -- all of whom started Monday night for the Titans. Dunn,
Jason Leslie,
Alex Mendonca,
Jacob Prud'homme, Smith and Steinwascher all played pivotal roles during the season and throughout their careers.
Inside the Box Score
• Cleveland State had a 15-10 shot advantage for the match.
• Detroit tallied a 3-2 edge in shots during overtime.
• The Titans posted five corner kicks, while the Vikings earned three.
• UDM received two yellow cards -- both in the first half -- while CSU was handed one during overtime.
• Detroit had one shot on goal -- which came on
Tyler Hughes' header in the first half.
Titan Notes
• Detroit played in its 11th overtime match on Monday night. The Titans went 1-2-8 in overtime matches this year.
• The Titans finished the season with a 3-4-3 record on the road.
• Detroit finished the year one draw shy of the NCAA record for ties in a season. The Titans played the final seven games to a win/loss result.
• UDM finished with a sub-1.00 GAA average for the second-straight year. Detroit posted a 0.99 goals against average in 2015 (22 goals in 20 games).
• Steinwascher concluded his career with 341 saves. He tied the career record for shutouts (19) during the season and was the third goalkeeper in the 29-year history of Detroit men's soccer to reach the 300-save plateau.
• Three Titans earned All-Horizon League honors Monday:
Austin Dunn (First Team),
Spiro Pliakos (First Team) and
Tyler Moorman (Second Team).
