DETROIT (10/3/2016) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team returns to the road this weekend, visiting UIC on Saturday for an 8 p.m. ET match from Chicago. No live stream is available for the match, but live statistics will be available. General admission tickets are $8.
Detroit Mercy returns to Horizon League play for five of its last six matches of the regular season. The Titans return home next weekend, hosting Wright State on Oct. 15 at Titan Field.
Titan News & Notes
• The Titans and UIC played to a 2-2 draw last season in Detroit with the Titans coming from behind, scoring the final two markers.
• Detroit Mercy has totaled 30 shots in the past two games, including a season-best 16 in its last match vs. Fort Wayne.
• Junior
Spiro Pliakos (three goals, one assist) and senior
Tommy Bowman (two goals, one assist) lead the squad in points with seven and five, respectively.
• Junior goalkeeper
Robbie Beckwell ranks second in the Horizon League in saves (42).
• Bowman has two goals in Horizon League play, which is tied for second in the league.
• Bowman leads the team in minutes played at 968. He and midfielder
Adam Clauss are the only players to start all 11 matches.
• Pliakos ranks 13th all-time in Detroit Mercy men's soccer history with 16 assists.
•
Tyler Moorman (7g) and Pliakos (3g, 8a) led the Titans in scoring in 2015 with 14 points each.
• Detroit Mercy has 11 draws in the past two seasons. The Titans were one tie shy of the NCAA record last year, finishing with eight draws in 2015.
• The Titans finish the season with five of six against Horizon League opponents. Detroit Mercy has two more home games, hosting Wright State on Oct. 15 and Green Bay on Oct. 29 for Senior Day.
• The Titans play 12 of their 17 matches away from Titan Field in 2016.
•
Nicholas Deren '99 enters his seventh full year as the leader of the men's soccer program. A former player for the University, Deren has spent the last 13 seasons with the Detroit Mercy men's soccer program as an assistant coach or head coach.
Last Time Out
Detroit Mercy out-shot Fort Wayne in a non-conference match at home, but the Titans fell to the Mastodons, 3-0. The Titans finished the game with a 16-13 edge in shots, tallying 12 in a second half that was plentiful with scoring opportunities. The Titans hit one post and one crossbar and couldn't find the back of the goal.
Tommy Bowman finished the game with a team-best five shots. Sophomore goalkeeper
Josh Flamme made his first career start in net and second career appearance overall, turning away three shots in 90 minutes.
Scouting UIC
The Flames have a 3-1-0 mark in the Horizon League, sitting near the top of the standings after four matches. UIC is 4-5-2 overall on the season and 3-2-0 on its home turf. UIC earned league wins over Milwaukee, Green Bay and Northern Kentucky, all by shutouts, while falling to Wright State by a 4-0 margin. UIC is also unbeaten in its past four matches (3-0-1).
Max Todd leads the squad with five goals and four assists for 14 points. Jose Fuentes ranks second on the squad in goals (4) and points (10). As a team, UIC has scored 14 goals and given up 22 in 11 games this season. In net, Andrew Putna holds a 1.46 goals against average and has 29 total saves and three shutouts.
All-Time Series
The Titans lead UIC in the all-time series, 11-9-4. In the past seven games against UIC, Detroit Mercy holds a 5-1-1 mark, which includes a 2-2 draw against the Flames last season in Detroit. The Titans trailed 2-0 in the second half before
Don Nakashima and
Spiro Pliakos evened the game with their goals.
Senior Class
Five seniors represent the Titans this year --
Marcus Barnett,
Tommy Bowman,
John D'Agostino,
Matt Harkema and
Tyler Moorman. The group has helped the squad to 16 victories total in the last two years, including the two lowest goals against averages in school history. Moorman was named Second Team All-Horizon League last season, leading the squad with seven goals, while Harkema has eight goals in his career, five of them game-winners.
Last Season
The Titans dropped just one game in Horizon League play last season, finishing 3-1-5 in conference action. Detroit Mercy fell in the first round of the Horizon League Championship at Cleveland State, dropping a 1-0 contest in overtime. The Titans finished the season 7-5-8 overall and earned their first victory over the University of Michigan in program history, winning 2-1 over the Wolverines in Ann Arbor in mid-September. Detroit Mercy also set a new school record for draws with eight, finishing just one off the NCAA record for a single season.
Horizon League Preseason Poll
The Titans were selected to finish seventh in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, which was released earlier in August. Detroit Mercy received 38 total votes and finished just behind Milwaukee, who totaled 40 points, in the poll. Oakland and Wright State earned the most votes in the poll with 73 each, while four teams received first-place votes, including three each for Oakland, Wright State and fourth-place Valparaiso.
On Tap
The Titans return to Horizon League play in five of their final six matches. Following Saturday's match against UIC, Detroit Mercy hosts Wright State on Saturday, Oct. 15 for a 4 p.m. ET match. It's the second of a doubleheader with the Titan women's soccer squad.
