DETROIT (8/21/2019) -- The 2019 University of Detroit Mercy women's soccer team will officially open the season on Thursday as the red, white and blue welcome Northwood to Titan Field.

Game time is set for 4 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

The game is the first for all Horizon League teams on the season and is also one of the first seven games on the year in Division I.

On The Pitch

• It will be Steve Shelton's first career game as head coach of the Titans. He is just the second coach in program history following Mike Lupenec, who guided the program in its first 26 seasons. 
• The squad returns 21 letter winners and seven starters from a team that was 9-8-1 overall and 4-4-1 in the Horizon League, advancing to the semifinals of the conference tournament. 
• Detroit Mercy is searching for its first opening day win since 2009, when it beat Notre Dame (Ohio) 1-0, as the Titans are 0-8-1 in their last nine season openers. Overall, Detroit Mercy is 7-18-1 all-time in season openers. 
• The Titans are 14-8-4 all-time in home openers and 4-4-1 when it begins the year at Titan Field. 
• Detroit Mercy is 2-0 all-time against Northwood, beating the Timberwolves 4-3 at home in 2016 and 2-0 on the road last year. 

Season Preview
The 2019 season will bring new leadership to the Titans as Steve Shelton takes over as head coach of the program, just the second coach in the 27-year history of women's soccer. 

He inherits a program that returns 21 players and seven starters from a team that went on a winning streak at the end of the year to qualify for the postseason and finish 9-8-3 overall and 4-4-1 in the Horizon League. With that said, in the coaches preseason poll, the Titans were picked to finish eighth.

"I think the outlook for the season is good," said Shelton. "I look at it a little differently in regards to the number of people we have coming back because we are going to play a different style. We have a lot of players that could be playing in different places, different roles, players who didn't really make an impact last year, but with a different style, they could have a bigger impact."

"Overall, as a program, our culture is to stress relationships, and this team has come together really well."

Offense
The Titans struggled at times offensively last year, but do return three of their top four point scorers to go with a new offensive system. 

"We want to be relentless, go after people and attack more," said Shelton. "We need to win the ball more up the field and go at teams. We have some players who might not have been good in a possession system, but are better one-on-one and going after players so that will help our system."

Sophomore Julie Ann Piechocki is the team's leading returning scorer. She was a member of the HL All-Freshman Team last year as she topped the squad with 16 points and six assists and tied for the team lead with five goals. She was third among all freshmen in the conference in points, goals and assists and tied for fifth overall in the league in points and sixth in assists and goals. 

Sophomore Nasreen Kobeissi and junior Kelli Doyle are also back. Kobeissi started 19 of the 20 games last season and was third on the team with seven points and three goals, but she was at her best when the Titans needed her. She tallied game-winning goals in overtime in 1-0 wins at Green Bay and at Wright State and her assist was on Piechocki's game-winning goal in overtime at Toledo.

Doyle has 14 points in her first two seasons and she posted two goals and a helper last year. She has been one of the best in the HL at winning the ball at the midfield in her first two seasons. 

Junior Rachel Russo is also back and when healthy, she can be an offensive threat recording three assists last season and four goals as a freshman. Also back from injuries to help offensively are juniors Riley McCleese and Rima Youssef as well as senior midfielder Megan Pace. 

"Julie will have a big role, but I think we will have a lot of different players that we rely on offensively," said Shelton. "I look at Nasreen, Rachel, Rima, Kelli, Megan and a few of our freshman should all fit in pretty well with what we want to do. As a team, I don't think we will have one person, it will be a group effort and it could be different every game depending on how we play teams."

Defense
The Detroit Mercy defense will miss a couple of key veterans from the last few seasons in goalie Marina Manzo, defenseman Carly Fiorido - who was also an offensive threat - and midfielder Molly Kane. Those three helped the team post nine shutouts in 2019, including a school-record six straight at one point. 

The backline will have plenty of experience, though, with senior Casey Couturier, junior Olivia Parra and sophomore Hannah Alexis, three starters from a year ago.

Couturier has seen action in 49 career games, playing at defense and defensive midfield. Parra has started 30 games in her first two years and Alexis started 19 games as a rookie last season. 

The defense will also feature a key transfer in sophomore Hailey Wentzloff - who was a starter on a Grand Valley State team that made a run to the DII national championship.

"We have a very strong backline," said Shelton. "Looking at the returners and adding Haily will make it better. The style will be different, but they have all adapted well to it and are hard workers, athletic and hard nose defenders."

The midfield will have young and talented players in the likes of juniors Olivia Elby, Ana Ginez and Sophie Mapes and sophomores Morgan LaForest and Emily Lorkowski, players that can play defense but also go into the attacking end.

Elby has seen the most time playing in 32 career games with 11 starts, while Mapes has seen action in 24. 

In net, to say the Titans have a young and inexperienced unit might be an understatement as the quartet of senior Amanda Emke, sophomores Carlie Castiglione and Cece Muskovac and freshman Cassidy Joslin have combined for zero minutes of collegiate playing time. 

"They are all competing hard. Cassisy has come in and done a really good job for us, but she is a freshman and will need experience," said Shelton. "All have clearly worked hard and are all close and now, we just have to see how they look in games because sometimes that can be different than how they look in practice."

Outlook
The Titans were picked to finish eighth in the Horizon League preseason poll, just like they were in 2018, but the red, white and blue were able to shake off a slow start to not only qualify for the postseason, but make a run to the conference semifinals.

"I don't put a lot of stock in preseason polls, especially this year because there are so many new coaches in the league. Who knows how everyone adapts to new styles and things could shake out very differently. It's just important for us to keep working hard and improving and get ready for the conference season. 

The schedule will see Detroit Mercy open at home with two-straight games, but a long road slate follows that has the Titans play six in a row away from the Motor City. They do have the benefit of playing five of their nine conference games in the friendly confines of Titan Field.

"There might be some communication points that we have to work out here in the non-conference, but we have a long term approach here when looking at the non-conference schedule and playing time and getting ready for the Horizon League," added Shelton.