The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 2, Cleveland State 1
Records: Detroit Mercy 7-7-3 (4-4-1 HL), Cleveland State 6-9-2 (4-3-2 HL)
Location: Cleveland, Ohio (Krenzler Field)
CLEVELAND, Ohio (11/3/2017) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team scored on two penalty kicks in the final eight minutes of the match Friday night to rally and earn a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Cleveland State.
By virtue of their win over the Vikings and Northern Kentucky's loss to Green Bay, the Titans (7-7-3, 4-4-1 HL) earned the No. 6 spot in the upcoming 2017 Horizon League Championship. Detroit Mercy is set to play at No. 3 seed Milwaukee on Monday in a Horizon League Championship quarterfinal match.
Senior forward
Tyler Moorman scored on both of the penalty kicks. Trailing 1-0 late in the match, Detroit Mercy earned the first PK after sophomore
Jake Reitzloff was fouled by the Cleveland State goalkeeper. Moorman tucked his PK inside the left post in the 82nd minute to tie the match, 1-1.
Just minutes later, after a
Spiro Pliakos' booming shot from the top of the box was turned away, sophomore
Justin Schueneman had control of the ball and was fouled on a tackle in the box. Moorman again set up for the penalty kick and found the back of the net, this time beating the keeper to the right side of the goal. The PK goal gave Detroit Mercy a 2-1 lead with just minutes left.
Cleveland State had a shot in the 90th minute that was blocked and didn't have another look at goal as the Titans sealed the victory in the remaining minutes of the match.
The Titans needed to win and needed some help from the Green Bay-Northern Kentucky match and got it with the Phoenix earning a double-overtime 1-0 win shortly after Detroit Mercy's win. The Titans celebrated twice in a matter of minutes when they found out their postseason fate.
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Detroit Mercy and Cleveland State each had four shots in the first half, but the Titans dominated the stat sheet in the second half, out-shooting CSU 15-6 in the final 45 minutes. Detroit Mercy also had an 11-2 edge in corner kicks during the contest.
Moorman's goals were his 10th and 11th of the season marking the most goals in a single-season by a Titan since Adam Bedell scored 11 goals in 2012. Moorman's 24 points this season are also the most since Bedell's 27 in 2012.
Moorman had four shots on goal during the game, while Pliakos had four shots -- two of them on net. Sophomore
Garret Weaver and graduate
Dalton Amez each added three shots for the Titans. Senior goalkeeper
Robbie Beckwell made two saves in net to earn the victory, his seventh of the year.Â
It's the third time in four seasons that the Titans have qualified for the Horizon League Championship.
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