The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 2, Fort Wayne 1
Records: Detroit Mercy 4-0-1, Fort Wayne 1-3-3
Location: Fort Wayne, Ind. (Hefner Soccer Complex)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (9/13/2017) -- Senior forwards Tyler Moorman and Spiro Pliakos continued their electric starts to the 2017 season with each scoring a goal to help lead the Titans to a 2-1 road victory over Fort Wayne on Wednesday night.

Pliakos and Moorman connected on the first goal with Pliakos placing a perfect pass from midfield to Moorman, who had split a pair of defenders and chipped the ball over a charging goalkeeper and into the open net in the 26th minute for a 1-0 lead. It was Moorman's fourth goal of the season.

Pliakos scored just after the halftime break, netting a goal as he charged towards the goal after receiving a pass from sophomore Jake Reitzloff. His goal in the 46th minute gave Detroit Mercy a 2-0 lead early in the second half. His fifth goal of the year set a single-season career best.

The Titans allowed a goal in the 68th minute of the second half, but the Titan defense stood strong the remainder of the contest in earning the 2-1 victory on the road. Senior goalkeeper Robbie Beckwell made his fifth-straight start and made four saves in net for the Titans.

"Coming away with an ugly win on the road was a great accomplishment because that's a great team over there," head coach Nicholas Deren '99 said. "They have a great coaching staff, they were set up well and they have some really good players. And we caught them on the counter and that's how we won the game. It was a really good result for the team. We got some good minutes out of a lot of different guys tonight."

Detroit Mercy, No. 9 in the Great Lakes regional rankings for the second-straight week, improved upon its best start as a program since the 2002 season at 4-0-1. The Titans were playing in just their second road match of the season after beginning the year with three of four from Titan Field.

Pliakos led the team with four shots, while senior Adam Clauss and Pliakos each had three shots on goal. Moorman had three shots, two of them on net. Forty-one fouls were called in the match, 28 of them issued to the Titans. Fort Wayne was carded for five yellow cards, while Detroit Mercy received two yellows.

Fort Wayne had the edge in shots, 15-11, and corner kicks, 6-2, however Detroit Mercy tallied an 8-5 edge in shots in the first half to help take the lead. All three of Clauss' shots on goal came in the first half.
 

Another W, this time on the road! The Titans (4-0-1) earn a road win, 2-1, at Fort Wayne on Wednesday! ??????#TitansForLife #HLMSOC pic.twitter.com/mUi1ZyM8nU

— Detroit Mercy MSOC (@UDMSoccer) September 14, 2017

Titan News & Notes
• Detroit Mercy has continued its best start since 2002, when the team opened 7-0-1.
• The Titans are unbeaten in their past five matches (4-0-1) against the Mastodons, dating back to 2012.
• Pliakos has five goals in five games to set a new single-season, career-high in goals. He had four goals in both the 2014 and 2016 seasons.
• Moorman & Pliakos have accounted for nine of the 10 Titan goals this season and have 20 points combined.
• Pliakos moved into 16th place on the all-time career points list and is one point shy of 14th place with 49 career points.
• Jake Reitzloff earned his first collegiate point with his assist on Pliakos' game-winning goal.
• Redshirt freshman John Kingman made his first collegiate appearance for the Titans in the second half.
• Detroit Mercy improved to 11-3-3 all-time against Fort Wayne and 4-2-2 under Deren.
• The Titans improved to 1-0-1 on the road this season.