DETROIT (10/1/2018) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team hosts Purdue Fort Wayne for a Tuesday non-conference match from Titan Field. The match is set to begin at 3 p.m. in Detroit and may be seen live via ESPN-Plus with a monthly subscription.

The Titans are coming off a 4-2 setback on Saturday at home against Horizon League leader Wright State. Detroit Mercy is in the middle of a three-game home stand and also hosts league foe Green Bay this coming Saturday from Titan Field.
 

Game 11  |  Detroit Mercy (1-9) vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (6-4)
Dates / Time	Tuesday, Oct. 2 // 3 PM ET
Location / Tickets	Detroit, Mich. (Titan Field) // Admission: Free
Live Stats	SideArm Stats
Live Stream/Video	ESPN-Plus
Social Media	Twitter (In-game Tweets): @UDMSoccer  |  Facebook     Instagram  |  Tweet #DetroitsCollegeTeam
All-Time Series	Titans lead, 11-3-3 // Last Meeting: Titans 2, PFW 1 (9/13/17)

Titan News & Notes
• The Titans are 11-3-3 all-time against Purdue Fort Wayne and holds a 4-2-2 mark under head coach Nicholas Deren '99.
• Sophomore Demetri Pliakos and freshman Dominic Gatson each scored their first collegiate goals in Saturday's 4-2 setback against Wright State.
• Pliakos had a career-best three points in the match, also assisting on Gatson's goal in the 53rd minute of the match against the Raiders.
• All goals in 2018 are the first career for the players who scored them. Sophomores Daniel Iyok, Mohamad Miri and Demetri Pliakos, redshirt freshman Ben Al-Gharabally and freshman Dominic Gatson all scored their first collegiate goals in 2018.
• Senior Kevin Tapchom and junior James Solomon also each tallied their first career assists for the Titans in 2018.
• Junior defender Garret Weaver have each started all 10 games and played all 909 minutes on the field this season.
• Sophomore Demetri Pliakos leads the squad in shots (18) and ranks second in shots on goal (5) so far during the 2018 season. 
• Goalkeepers Evan Mazurek (1.33 GAA, 13 saves) and Devin Mendez (2.25 GAA, 27 saves) have split time in net this season with Mendez starting seven matches and Mazurek starting in three contests. Mendez has started the last five matches for the Titans.
• Mazurek recorded a shutout in a 1-0 win over Robert Morris in his first collegiate game and start, while Mendez made three saves, allowing just one goal in Detroit Mercy's first Horizon League match, a 1-0 loss to Oakland at home. Mendez has four games of five or more saves this season.
• Senior defender Grant Harrison was Second Team All-HL in 2017 and leads active Titan players with 43 starts on the back line.
• The Titans have experience on the back line with defenders Harrison (43 starts), Garret Weaver (41), Justin Schueneman (34) and Justin Murray (26) having started a collective 144 matches across their Detroit Mercy careers.
• Five players have started every game this season -- Harrison, Murray, Pliakos, Schueneman and Weaver.
• The Titans went 7-8-4 last season en route to an appearance in the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship tournament.
• Head coach Nicholas Deren '99 is in his ninth full season and has 57 victories in his Titan head coaching career.
• Detroit Mercy has won or earned a share of two regular-season Horizon League titles in the past seven seasons (2012, 2014 - share).
• The red, white and blue opened the 2018 season with five-straight matches on the road and eight of nine away from Detroit.

Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne
The Mastodons are 6-4 on the season and coming off a 4-1 setback in their Summit League opener against Omaha at home. Purdue Fort Wayne is 2-1 on the road this season. The Mastodons have faced three Horizon League opponents this season, falling 3-2 to Wright State at home, shutting out Northern Kentucky by a 3-0 margin and then defeating Green Bay on the road, 1-0.

Purdue Fort Wayne has scored 25 goals on the season, while its opponents have netted 19 goals. Senior Matthew Lieshout leads the squad offensively with nine goals and 19 points. Lieshout has been efficient this season, scoring on nine of his 12 shots on goal, while also converting on 3-of-4 penalty kick attempts. Senior Romain Lopez is second with 13 points, leading the squad with seven assists. Senior Blake Cearns adds five goals and 10 points for Purdue Fort Wayne.

In net, freshman GK Tor Erik Larsen has started all 10 matches and holds a 1.93 goals against average and 74.0 save percentage, to go along with 54 saves.

All-Time Series
Detroit Mercy is 11-3-3 all-time against Purdue Fort Wayne in 17 career meetings. The Titans are 4-2-2 under head coach Nicholas Deren '99 against the Mastodons. The red, white and blue are 5-1-2 in home matches against the Mastodons. The Titans who last season's meeting with Purdue Fort Wayne, winning 2-1 on the road.

Harrison Candidate for Senior Class Award
Senior defender Grant Harrison (Macomb, Mich. / Eisenhower) was selected as a candidate for the 2018 Senior Class Award, it was announced on Sept. 19. Harrison was one of 30 men's soccer student-athletes across the nation to be considered for the honor. 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.

Detroit Mercy has had a player earn consideration for the Senior Class Award as one of the 30 finalists in four out of the past six seasons. Prior to Harrison, Tyler Moorman (2017), Nathan Steinwascher (2015) and Adam Bedell (2013) all received the accolade for the Titans. Harrison is the lone Horizon League men's soccer student-athlete to be considered for the Senior Class Award.

Up Next
Detroit Mercy hosts Green Bay on Saturday in its fifth Horizon League match of the 2018 season. The Titans then return to the road for their next three matches, starting with a non-conference match-up against in-state opponent Michigan on Wednesday, Oct. 10 in Ann Arbor.