DETROIT (9/30/22) – The Detroit Mercy men's soccer team travels North up I-75 to Rochester, Mich. for the annual Metro Series showdown against arch-rival Oakland on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast live from the Oakland Soccer Field on ESPN+ with the Voice of the Golden Grizzlies Neal Ruhl on the call.
 
A Look at the Competition:
Oakland currently sits in fourth place in the #HLMSOC standings at 1-0-1 with a 1-6-2 overall mark. The Golden Grizzlies won their first league game with a 2-1 decision over Robert Morris and were picked to repeat as champions in the 2022 #HLMSOC Preseason Poll. Last season, Oakland claimed the regular season title and followed by winning the HL championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament when they fell in the first round to Northern Illinois.
 
Metro Series All-Time Results: Oakland leads 5-0-3
2021: T Oakland 2 at Detroit Mercy 2 (2OT)
2020-21: W - Oakland 3 vs Detroit Mercy 1
2019: T - Oakland 1 vs Detroit Mercy 1 (2OT)
2018: W - Oakland 1 at Detroit Mercy 0
2017: T - Oakland 0 vs Detroit Mercy 0 (2OT)
2016: W - Oakland 2 at Detroit Mercy 1
2015: W - Oakland 2 vs Detroit Mercy 0
2014: W - Oakland 2 at Detroit Mercy 1 (OT)
 
Last Metro Series Meeting:
Oct. 3, 2021 – Oakland 2 at Detroit Mercy 2 (2OT):
Defender Kyle Bandyk scored two goals, one off a corner kick feed from midfielder Daniel Iyok and the other off a penalty kick, as Detroit Mercy played arch-rival Oakland to a 2-2 double-overtime draw in Metro Series action on a rainy Saturday night at Titan Field. Mikey Ketteman scored a goal and added an assist while Reid Sproat scored his second career goal. Ville Ahola and Dawsun Schrum also each added an assist on Ketteman's goal. Oakland is a perfect 5-0-3 all-time against the Detroit Mercy since the inception of the Metro Series in 2014 and 12-3-7 over the last 22 matches.
 
The Team:
The 2022 season marks the 35th year of the men's soccer program
Head Coach Nick Deren is in his 13th season as head coach and 19th season overall with the program.
 
Sylvain Saves the Day:
Freshman Guershom Sylvain picked the perfect time to score his first collegiate goal. With just 10 seconds left in the game and Detroit Mercy trailing 1-0, freshman he connected on a header for the equalizer off a corner kick feed from Samory Powder helping the Titans escape Green Bay with a 1-1 draw on Wednesday.
 
Last Line of Defense:
Redshirt sophomore Jonathan Kliewer posted his first shutout in the Titans' 0-0 draw against IUPUI (9/24). He recorded a career-high 11 saves while facing 20 shots in Detroit Mercy's season opening 2-2 draw at Jacksonville. He also picked up his first win of the season against Chicago State (9/1).
 
Salute to Saied:
Junior Saeid Jannoun also picked the perfect time to score his first career goal as his first half equalizer helped Detroit Mercy play Cleveland State to a 1-1 draw in #HLMSOC opening action (9/17).
 
Feel the Powder:
Junior Samory Powder scored his first goal of the season in the Titans 3-2 setback at UMKC (9/5) and added his team-leading second goal in the 2-1 setback at Michigan (9/12). He also assisted on the game-tying goal off a corner kick with 10 seconds remaining in Detroit Mercy's 1-1 tie at Green Bay (9/28) and posted his first assist of the season in the 2-2 draw at Jacksonville (8/25).
 
On the Board:
Graduate student Ryan Pierson scored his first goal of the season in the Titans 3-2 setback at UMKC. Senior Matthew Andres also posted his first goal of the season connecting on a header off a cross from Powder to open scoring just six minutes into the game in the Titans' 2-2 draw at Jacksonville (8/25).
 
Rocco was Rolling:
Senior Rocco Galati scored both goals to lead Detroit Mercy to a 2-1 home opening win over Chicago State (9/1) in the home opener at Titan Field on Thursday.
 
Assists All-Around:
-Graduate student Bennett Brooks, sophomore Stephen Kosto and junior Saeid Jannoun each added their first assists of the season in the Titans' first win of the season over Chicago State.
 
-Sophomore Baldeep Gill added his first career assist at UMKC
 
Freshman Firsts:
-The freshman tandem of Tim Allos and Casey McCarthy recorded their first career collegiate points as Allos scored his first career goal off an assist from McCarthy in the 81st minute giving Detroit Mercy a 2-1 lead in the season opener at Jacksonville.
 
-Freshman Guershom Sylvain posted his first career assist at Michigan.
 
Titans picked fifth in 2022 #HLMSOC Preseason Poll:
The Detroit Mercy men's soccer team was picked to finish fifth in the 2022 Horizon League Men's Soccer (#HLMSOC) Preseason Poll as announced by the league office on Wednesday and voted on by the league's 10 head coaches. The Titans received 56 points.
 
Defending 2021 #HLMSOC regular season and tournament champion Oakland was picked to repeat with 93 points and six first place votes. Cleveland State was picked second with 90 points and two first place votes followed by Milwaukee in third with 81 points and a first-place vote. Wright State was slated fourth with 68 points and first place vote while the Titans rounded out the top-five.
 
Returning Firepower:
Detroit Mercy returns junior Samory Powder who ranked second on the team in goals (3) and third in points (6) while leading the team and ranking fourth in the league in total shots per game (3.07). Powder was selected as one of 24 players to enter the Residential Camp for the Trinidad & Tobago Men's Senior National Football Team Provisional Squad in March in preparation for the Confederation of North America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Nation's League in June. The National Team played two international friendly matches against the national teams from Barbados and Guyana at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain in Trinidad.
 
Graduate student Ryan Halloran, senior Matthew Andres, junior Rocco Galati and sophomore Stephen Kosto all return after each recorded a goal last season. Graduate student Brooks Bennett also recoded an assist.
 
Lost Firepower:
The Titans lost their top two offensive leaders from last season in All-League Second Team selections Demetri Pliakos, who led the team in points (12) and assists (6) while ranking second in goals (3), and Kyle Bandyk who led the team in goals (4) while ranking second in points (10) and assists (2). In addition, Daniel Iyok lead the team in assists (3).
 
Last Line of Defense:
The Titans return Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year and All-HL First Team selection Jonathan Kliewer. Kliewer, a Grand Rapids, Mich. native, started in 16 played leading the league in goals against average (0.91) while ranking second in shutouts (6) and save percentage (.800) and sixth in saves per game (4.00). After posting back-to-back clean sheets against Purdue Fort Wayne and Milwaukee making a total of five saves to help the Titans earn six points in league play, he was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week. Kliewer's other shutouts came against UIW, IUPUI, Robert Morris and in the regular season finale against Wright State which clinched a berth in the 2021 Horizon League Championships for the Titans as a No. 5 seed. He also posted a season-best eight saves in the 2-2 draw against arch-rival Oakland.
 
Home Grown Talent:
Detroit Mercy has 30 student-athletes from the state of Michigan with three others from New Jersey, Texas and Ohio.
 
International Flavor:
The Titans have two student-athletes from Canada and one from Norway.
 
Newcomers:
Detroit Mercy has a diverse group of 14 newcomers in goalkeepers Robby Spradlin III and Quinn Tews; forwards Zander Crooks, Tim Allos, Guershom Sylvain and Mardig Alajajian; midfielders Vincent Stockton, Clayton Lafayette and Andri Myftari; defenders Mateo Phillips, Kendell Howard, Casey McCarthy, Spencer Powe and John Nino who will look to make an immediate impact.
 
Season Rewind:
Detroit Mercy 1 at Green Bay 1 – (9/28/22)
With just 10 seconds left in the game and Detroit Mercy trailing 1-0, freshman Guershom Sylvain connected on a header for the equalizer off a corner kick feed from junior Samory Powder helping the Titans escape Green Bay with a 1-1 draw in #HLMSOC action on Wednesday afternoon at Aldo Santaga Stadium. Redshirt sophomore Jonathan Kliewer kept Detroit Mercy (1-3-4, 0-0-3 HL) in the game making seven saves including one off a penalty kick in the first half.  With time winding down in the 89th minute, Powder sent a corner kick cross into the box where Sylvain leaped up high in the air and hit a solid header past Green Bay (3-2-3, 0-1-1 HL) goalkeeper Tobias Jahn to the left side for his first career goal.
 
 Detroit Mercy 0 vs IUPUI 0 – (9/24/22)
Redshirt sophomore Jonathan Kliewer recorded his first shutout of the season while junior Luke Winters, junior Samory Powder, sophomore Fisher Hudak and freshman Tim Allos each posted a shot on goal as Detroit Mercy played IUPUI to a scoreless draw in #HLMSOC action on Saturday night.
 
Detroit Mercy 1 vs Cleveland State 1 – (9/17/22)
Junior Saeid Jannoun picked the perfect time to score his first career goal as his first half equalizer helped Detroit Mercy play Cleveland State to a 1-1 draw in #HLMSOC opening action. Redshirt sophomore Jonathan Kliewer made six saves on 21 shots faced.
 
Cleveland State (4-1-1, 0-0-1 HL) took an early 1-0 lead in the 15th minute of the game. However, in the 30th minute, Jannoun made CSU pay off a failed clear attempt. He pressured a CSU defender who passed the ball back to goalkeeper Omeed Naeemy who mis-played the ball right to Jannoun who took the ball and flicked it into the wide-open goal for the equalizer.
 
Detroit Mercy 1 at Michigan 2 – (9/12/22)
Junior Samory Powder scored his second goal of the season off the first career assist from freshman Guershom Sylvain as Detroit Mercy took a 1-0 second half lead but could not hold on as the Titans fell 2-1 at Michigan on Monday night. In the 67th minute, Power took a feed from Sylvain on the left side, turned, and ripped a shot into the upper 90 past U-M goalkeeper Hayden Evans giving Detroit Mercy (1-3-1) a 1-0 lead.
 
Detroit Mercy 0 at No. 13 Charlotte 5 – (9/9/22)
Sophomore Andri Myftari posted three total shots with two on goal while junior Samory Powder added two shots as Detroit Mercy fell 5-0 at No. 13 Charlotte on Friday night. Detroit Mercy (1-2-1) had two corner kick chances in the first half and five for the game but were unable to convert. In the 61st minute of the second half, Myftari connected on a solid header to the right post off a corner kick but Charlotte (4-0) goalkeeper Thomas Wallis made a nice diving save to keep the Titans off the board.
 
Detroit Mercy 2 at UMKC 3 – (9/5/22)
Graduate student Ryan Pierson and junior Samory Powder each scored their first goals of the season while sophomore Baldeep Gill added his first career assist as Detroit Mercy dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 setback at UMKC on Monday. With the game tied at 2-2, the Roos got the game-winning goal late in the 88th minute.
 
Detroit Mercy 2 vs Chicago State 1 – (9/1/22)
Senior Rocco Galati scored both goals to lead Detroit Mercy to a 2-1 home opening win over Chicago State at Titan Field. Sophomore Stephen Kosto assisted on Galati's first goal while graduate student Bennett Brooks and junior Saeid Jannoun assisted on the game-winner. Redshirt sophomore Jonahan Kliewer picked up the win in goal making three saves.
 
Detroit Mercy at Jacksonville – No Contest (8/28/22)
The road match between Detroit Mercy and Stetson was deemed a no contest due to rainy weather conditions. The Titans took a 1-0 lead early in the first half but thunderstorms and constant lightning in the area didn't allow for the game to be resumed.
 
Detroit Mercy 2 at Jacksonville 2 - (8/25/22)
The freshman tandem of Tim Allos and Casey McCarthy recorded their first career collegiate points as Allos scored his first career goal off an assist from McCarthy in the 81st minute giving Detroit Mercy a 2-1 lead. However, Jacksonville got a late equalizer in the 87th minute as the Titans and Dolphins played to a 2-2 draw in the season opener on Thursday night. Senior Matthew Andres also connected on a header off a cross from junior Samory Powder to open scoring for the Titans just six minutes into the game. Redshirt sophomore Jonathan Kliewer posted a career-high 11 saves while facing 20 shots.
 
Exhibition Rewind:
Detroit Mercy 0 Northern Illinois 2 - (8/20/22)
Junior Samory Powder and graduate student Ryan Pierson each recorded two shots on goal followed by one each from junior Luke Winters and freshman Tim Allos as Detroit Mercy fell 2-0 to defending Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Titan Field to conclude exhibition play.
 
Detroit Mercy 0 vs Duquesne 0 - (8/17/22)
Redshirt sophomore Jonathan Kliewer posted six saves as the Detroit Mercy men's soccer team opened exhibition play with a scoreless draw against visiting Duquesne. Junior Samory Powder and senior Matthew Andres led the Titans recording three shots each. For the game, the Dukes held a 18-10 shots advantage while both teams had five corner kick chances.