The Basics
Final Score: Western Illinois 2, Detroit Mercy 0
Records: Detroit Mercy 4-8-1, Western Illinois 2-11-0
Location: Macomb, Ill. (MacKenzie Alumni Field)

MACOMB, Ill. (10/15/2019) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team turned its offensive pressure up in the second half of Tuesday's non-conference match at Western Illinois, recording 14 shots in the final 45 minutes, but the Titans were unable to capitalize in a 2-0 setback from Alumni Field. It was the final non-conference road match for the red, white and blue.

Detroit Mercy, which out-shot the Leathernecks 15-7 in the match, had its share of opportunities in the second half, hitting the crossbar several times and nearly scoring a goal before the play was called offsides. Late in the match, Titan junior Ryan Pierson connected with the crossbar and the ball went straight down towards the line, but the referee ruled the ball never crossed the goal line.

Western Illinois got its first goal early in the match, scoring in the 14th minute of the contest off a rebound in the box. It was 1-0 for the majority of the match until WIU was able to push across the second goal in the late stages of the game, scoring in the 89th minute on a shot from near the top of the box.

The Titans had just one shot in the first half with neither team getting many looks besides WIU's goal in the opening 45 minutes. The red, white and blue came out in the second half firing with junior Demetri Pliakos putting a shot on goal just minutes into the second half. Just minutes later, Pliakos would connect with the crossbar on a shot and sophomore Kyle Bandyk just seconds later had his shot on goal attempt turned aside.

In the 57th minute, senior Jake Reitzloff was hauled down on a breakaway, resulting in the second yellow card for a WIU player and turning into a red card. The Leathernecks played the final 33 minutes of the contest down a man. The Titans pressured WIU throughout during the final 30-plus minutes. Pierson connected with the crossbar in the 78th minute and then just minutes later had his shot on goal turned away.

The Titans thought they had scored the equalizer in the 80th minute after junior Jake Poorman knocked the ball over the line, but the head referee met with the sideline ref and ruled that it was an offsides call. Sophomore GK Devin Mendez made a key save in the 85th minute to help keep the game at 1-0, but Detroit Mercy couldn't capitalize on any more opportunities and WIU scored the final goal just minutes later to close out the scoring.

Pliakos and Pierson -- who each have game-winning goals in the past four matches -- recorded five shots each for Detroit Mercy. Bandyk had two shots for the Titans. Mendez, the reigning Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week, turned aside three shots in net. The Titans nearly doubled up WIU in corner kicks, 7-4.

It was the sixth meeting between the two programs in men's soccer and Detroit Mercy's first trip to Western Illinois since 2003. The Titans have just one non-league match remaining, hosting Western Michigan on Oct. 29. Four of the final five matches are Horizon League contests.

Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to Horizon League play for each of its next two matches, visiting Wright State on Saturday in Dayton, Ohio before heading to Wisconsin the following Saturday for another league match, this time with Green Bay. The Titans are in the thick of the Horizon League race with four points through four HL matches.