DETROIT (10/11/23) – The Detroit Mercy women's soccer team continues #HLWSOC play with a road match at Wright State followed by a home tilt against Cleveland State. The Titans and Raiders kick off on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. UDM and Cleveland State play on Sunday, Oct 15 at 1 p.m. with the match also being broadcast live from Titan Field on ESPN+ with Steven MacDonald on the call.
 
Last Time Out: Titans Roll Past Purdue Fort Wayne
Oct. 8 – Detroit Mercy 4 vs Purdue Fort Wayne 0:
For the second time this season, Sophia Blankenship scored two goals in a game giving her a team-best four on the season while sophomore Abbey Lodato and senior Karsen Murray also added their fourth goals of the season as Detroit Mercy rolled past Purdue Fort Wayne, 4-0, earning a huge #HLWSOC win at Titan Field on Sunday afternoon. The last time the Titans scored four goals at home against a Division I team was a 5-1 win over Youngstown State in 2016.
 
Balanced Attack:
• The Titans have seven different players with two or more goals and three with four goals.
• Sophomore Abbey Lodato leads the team in goals (4) with tallies against Chicago State (9/8), Concordia, Green Bay (9/24) and and PFW.
• Lodato is also tied for the team lead in points (9) with her lone assist coming against vs YSU
• Sophomore Sophia Blankenship is also tied for the team lead in points (9) and goals (4) recording two tallies in a game on two occasions vs Concordia and PFW. Her lone assist came against Concordia.
• Senior Karsen Murray also leads the team in goals (4) with tallies against CMU (8/17), BGSU (8/31), Concordia (9/10) and PFW (10/8).
• Junior Ashley Bates is second on the team in goals (3) against CMU, Chicago State and RMU (9/30).
• Graduate student Hailey Matthews, seniors Gabby Ketola and Erica Toupin each have two goals.
 
On the Board:
• Junior Adriana Mroz scored her first career goal in UDM's 3-1 setback at IUPUI (9/21).
• Puerto-Khalil scored her first goal of the season at Chicago State.
• Sophomore Megan Malek posted her first goal of the season and the second of her career against the Cardinals.
 
Dish the Assists:
• Nine different players have accounted for UDM's 18 total assists
• Four players have two or more assists
• Ketola leads the team with four with one against Chicago State (9/8), two vs Concordia (9/10) and one vs PFW.
• Soraya Puerto-Khalil is also tied for the team lead with four posting two vs Concordia and vs PFW.
• Senior Paige Myers is tied for second with two that came vs CMU (8/17) and at IUPUI (9/21).
• Mroz also has two assists with one vs CMU and Chicago State
• Matthews has two total assists recording one at Chicago State and RMU
• Detroit Mercy had three different players in Myers, Mroz and senior Danica Paesano record assists against CMU.
 
Ketola on point:
• Gabby Ketola is second on the team lead in points (8) while leading in assists (4) and is tied for second in goals (2).
• She also played a major role in helping Detroit Mercy record their first two wins on the season by posting five total points. In the Titans 4-2 win at Chicago State (9/8), she recorded her first assist of the season and followed with a goal and two assists in UDM's 6-0 shutout win over Concordia (9/10) on Senior Day.
• Her first goal of the season came in the home opener vs CMU.
 
Shut Em' Down:
• Senior Jazmine Scott posted her second shutout (5th career) of the season making two saves while facing 14 shots vs Green Bay (9/24).
• Scott also has two combined shutouts against Concordia and PFW.
• She recorded her fourth career shutout making four saves in the Titans' scoreless draw at Canisius (8/24).
• Against St. Bonaventure (8/27), Scott faced 10 shots making three saves and had not allowed a goal in 170.20 total minutes before surrendering the equalizer in the 80th minute in the 1-1 draw.
 
Sliver Returns:
Senior Marisa Silver posted a combined shutout with Scott against IUPUI. This was Silver's first action in goal since being injured in the first game of the 2022 season.
 
Freshman Firsts:
• Freshman Natalia Sobh posted her first collegiate goal at St. Bonaventure.
 
Mroz on the Money:
Junior Adriana Mroz scored her first career goal in UDM's 3-1 setback at IUPUI (9/21). Myers sent in a long feed into the box. Mroz broke in behind the defense, let the ball bounce, and then fired a rocket volley into the left upper 90 pulling the Titans within a goal at 2-1.
 
Defense to Offense:
• Graduate student Hailey Matthews recorded three points from her defensive position assisting on the game-winning goal followed by scoring her first goal in a Detroit Mercy uniform helping the Titans earn their first win of the season with a 4-2 result at Chicago State.
• Matthews also anchored the backline which didn't allow a single shot in UDM's 6-0 shutout win over Concordia.
• She then added the game-winning goal to lead Detroit Mercy to a 2-1 #HLWSOC opening win over YSU for her second goal of the season.
• Matthews added her second assist at RMU (9/30).
 
Toup There It Is:
• Erica Toupin scored her second goal of the season and assisted on game-winning goal for a total of three points in the Titans' first league win over YSU.
• She posted her first goal of the season against Morehead State (8/20).
 
High-Five:
Sophia Blankenship posted five points scoring two goals with an assist in UDM's 6-0 shutout win over Concordia.
 
Combined Shutout:
Jazmine Scott picked up her second consecutive win in goal and combined with sophomore Holli Brown and freshman Grace McCormick to secure a shutout. This marks the sixth career shutout for Scott and the first career shutout for Brown and McCormick.
 
Murray with a Missile:
Karsen Murray scored her second goal of the season off a long-range missile strike against BGSU (8/31). She got the ball in space at the 30-yard line, took a touch, and fired the ball from the 25-yard line that beat goalkeeper Lili Berg to the upper right 90 for the equalizer.
 
Perfection Continued Against YSU:
With the UDM's first #HLWSOC win of the season, the Titans moved to a perfect 12-0 all-time record against YSU at Titan Field.
 
The Team:
The 2023 season marks the 30th year of the women's soccer program.
Head Coach Steve Shelton is in his fifth season with the program.
 
Season Rewind:
Sept. 30 – Detroit Mercy 1 at Robert Morris 2:
Junior Ashley Bates posted her team-best third goal of the season off a corner kick feed from graduate student Hailey Matthews as Detroit Mercy came up short with a 2-1 setback in #HLWSOC action against Robert Morris on Saturday afternoon at the North Athletic Complex. Senior Jazmine Scott made a season-second-best six saves.
 
Sept. 24 – Detroit Mercy 1 vs Green Bay 0:
It was better late than never as sophomore Abbey Lodato connected on a clutch free kick goal in the 88th minute giving Detroit Mercy a 1-0 #HLWSOC win over visiting Green Bay on Sunday afternoon at Titan Field.
 
Sept. 21 – Detroit Mercy 1 at IUPUI 3:
Junior Adriana Mroz scored her first career goal off an assist from senior Paige Myers as Detroit Mercy concluded their #HLWSOC two-game road swing with a 3-1 setback at IUPUI on Thursday night at Michael A. Carroll Stadium.
 
Senior Jazmine Scott made four saves. Detroit Mercy (3-5-3, 1-2 HL) outshot IUPUI (7-2-2, 1-0-2 HL) 17-12 putting eight shots on goal but couldn't convert on any second-half chances after Mroz's second-half goal. '
Sept. 17 – Detroit Mercy 0 at Milwaukee 2:
The Detroit Mercy women's soccer team saw its three-game win streak come to an end with a 2-0 setback at the hands of defending #HLWSOC champion Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium. Senior Jazmine Scott matched a season-high making seven saves while facing 19 total shots.
 
Sept. 14 – Detroit Mercy 2 vs. YSU 1:
Senior Erica Toupin scored her second goal of the season and assisted graduate student Hailey Matthews' game-winning goal to lead Detroit Mercy to a 2-1 #HLWSOC opening win over visiting Youngstown State on Thursday night. The Titans have now won three consecutive games and moved to a perfect 12-0 all-time record against YSU at Titan Field.
 
Sophomore Abbey Lodato recorded her first assist of the season on Toupin's goal while senior Jazmine Scott picked up her third consecutive win in goal making three saves with the only goal she surrendered coming off a deflection.
 
Sept. 10 – Detroit Mercy 6 vs. Concordia 0:
Senior Gabby Ketola had quite the performance on Senior Day recording four points with a goal and two assists while sophomore Sophia Blankenship posted five points scoring two goals with an assist as Detroit Mercy rolled past Concordia 6-0 on Sunday afternoon at Titan Field.
 
Senior Karsen Murray posted her team-best third goal of the season just 1:55 into the match off a feed from Ketola. Sophomore Megan Malek also added her second career goal. Sophomore Soraya Puerto-Khalil also recorded two assists while sophomore Abbey Lodato scored a goal in her second consecutive game.
 
Sept. 8 – Detroit Mercy 4 at Chicago State 2:
Graduate Student Hailey Matthews scored her first career goal in a Titans uniform off a corner kick and added an assist as Detroit Mercy recorded their first win of the season as they rolled past over Chicago State 4-2 on Friday night.
 
Sophomores Abbey Lodato and Soraya Puerto-Khalil scored their first goals of the season while junior Ashley Bates added her second goal. Senior Gabby Ketola and junior Adriana Mroz each added an assist.
 
Sept. 3 – Detroit Mercy 0 vs. Toledo 3:
Senior Gabby Ketola recorded two shots on goal while sophomores Soraya Puerto-Khalil and Megan Malek each had one shot on goal as Detroit Mercy fell 3-0 to Toledo on Sunday at Titan field.
 
After both teams played even for a majority of the first half, Toledo (1-2-1) got on the board first with a goal in the 40th minute to take a 1-0 lead at the half. Ketola had Detroit Mercy's (0-3-3) best chance for the equalizer in the 49th minute as she got into the box and delivered a shot to the lower left side but UT goalkeeper Brielle Young was able to cut down the angle and make the save to keep the Titans off the board.
 
Aug. 31 – Detroit Mercy 1 vs BGSU 2:
Senior Karsen Murray scored her second goal of the season off a long-range missile strike as Detroit Mercy came up short to visiting Bowling Green, 2-1, on Thursday night at Titan field. Senior Jazmine Scott made four saves in goal.
 
During the first half, both teams connected on long-range goals as Bowling Green (2-2) took a 1-0 lead off a kick from Lacee Bethea from about 20 yards out in the 11th minute. Just five minutes later, Murray got the ball in space at the 30-yard line, took a touch, and fired the ball from the 25-yard line that beat BGSU goalkeeper Lili Berg to the upper right 90 for the equalizer.
 
Aug. 27 – Detroit Mercy 1 at St. Bonaventure 1:
Sobh posted her first collegiate goal as Detroit Mercy played St. Bonaventure to a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon at the Tom 80' and Michelle Marra Athletics Field Complex. The Titans ended their up-state New York road swing with consecutive draws to move to 0-1-3 on the season. Scott made two saves in goal while graduate student Hailey Matthews paced the Titans with two shots.
 
In the 28th minute of the first half, Detroit Mercy made the most of a St. Bonaventure (0-1-3) defensive miscue. The Titans applied pressure on the ball causing a Bonnine defender to play the ball back to Sobh who took the turnover and flicked it over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Chiara Gottinger who was slightly off her line giving the Titans a 1-0 lead.
 
Aug. 24 – Detroit Mercy 0 at Canisius 0:
Senior Jazmine Scott made four saves to record her fourth career shutout as Detroit Mercy played Canisius to a 0-0 draw on Thursday night at Demske Sports Complex. Sophomore Sophia Blankenship posted four of the Titans' six total shots on goal. Sophomore Abbey also accounted for two shots on goal as Detroit Mercy (0-1-2) outshot Canisius (0-1-2) 11-5 overall.
 
In the first half, senior Erica Toupin had the best scoring chance for the Titans as she got past a defender and fired a shot that hit the crossbar in the 35th minute. UDM continued the offensive pressure adding six more shots in the second half but couldn't get on the board.
 
Aug. 20 – Detroit Mercy 2 vs Morehead State 5:
Senior Erica Toupin posted her first goal of the season as Detroit Mercy dropped a 5-2 decision to visiting Morehead State on Sunday afternoon at Titan Field. Sophomore Sophia Blankenship almost got Detroit Mercy on the board just two minutes into the game as she ripped a shot past Morehead State keeper Erin Gibbs but the ball hit the crossbar.
 
In the 16th minute, sophomore Soraya Puerto-Khalil drove the ball deep down the right side and put pressure on a Morehead defender. She turned and fired a cross that was directed into the back of the net by a second Morehead defender for an own goal moving the Titans ahead 1-0.
 
Aug. 17 – Detroit Mercy 3 vs Central Michigan 3:
With time winding down in the 88th minute, junior Ashley Bates connected on a header off a pinpoint feed from senior Paige Myers to give Detroit Mercy what appeared to be the game-winning goal. However, Central Michigan was able to connect on the equalizer off a free kick with just 11 ticks on the clock to escape Titan Field with a 3-3 draw in the season opener on Thursday night.
 
Senior Gabby Ketola got things going for the Titans (0-0-1) just five minutes into the game as she fired a missile from just outside the box past CMU (0-0-1) keeper Shivani Battaglia for a 1-0 lead.
 
Detroit Mercy was not done as senior Karsen Murray delivered another goal off a header from a perfect free kick feed from junior Danica Paesano to take a 2-0 lead into the half.