DETROIT (8/30/23) – The Detroit Mercy women's soccer team returns home with a pair of matches against Mid-American Conference (MAC) opponents Bowling Green and Toledo. The Titans and Falcons will play on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. followed by the Rockets on Sunday, Sept. 3 at 1 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live from Titan Field on ESPN+ with Steven MacDonald on the call.
Return of the MAC:
With this weekend's pair of matches, Detroit Mercy will have competed against three schools from the Mid-American Conference in BGSU, Toledo and CMU at Titans Field.
Shut Em' Down:
Senior
Jazmine Scott 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.
Balanced Attack:
Over the first four games, the Titans have had five different goal scorers. Freshman
Natalia Sobh posted her first collegiate goal at St. Bonaventure while junior
Ashley Bates and seniors
Karsen Murray and
Gabby Ketola each scored against CMU (8/17). Senior
Erica Toupin posted her first goal of the season against Morehead State (8/20).
Dish the Assists:
Detroit Mercy also saw three different players in senior
Paige Myers and juniors
Adriana Mroz and
Danica Paesano record assists against the Chippewas.
Last Time Out:
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.
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.
Returning Firepower:
The Titans have 21 returners led by sophomore
Abbey Lodato who led the team in points (9) and tied for the team lead in assists (5) while starting in all 17 games last season to earn Horizon League Freshman of the Year and All-Freshman team honors. Graduate Student
Taylor Stanley also returns after tying for the team lead in assists (5) with Lodato while ranking second in points (7) while also starting in all 17 games.
Sophomore
Sophia Blankenship is back who tied for the team lead in goals (3) with departed senior
Julie Ann Piechocki while ranking fourth in points (6) followed by sophomore
Soraya Puerto-Khalil who ranked fourth on the team in points (4) and second in goals (2).
Senior
Erica Toupin (1 goal, 1 assist, 3 points), senior
Gabby Ketola (1 goal), sophomore
Megan Malek (1 goal) and senior
Olivia Zulewski (1 goal) also return to round out the offensive production from the 2022 season.
Senior
Tia Jokic is also back after a season ending injury in 2022. She was second in goals (2) and fifth in points (4) during the 2021 campaign.
Last Line of Defense:
The Titans return solid experience in goal with seniors
Jazmine Scott and
Marisa Silver. After Silver suffered a season-ending injury during the first game at FGCU in the 2022 season, Scott stepped in and started in 15 of 16 games posing a 6-9-1 record with 67 saves while ranking fifth in the Horizon League with three shutouts (HL stats only) in league play.
Home Grown Talent:
Detroit Mercy has 26 student-athletes from the state of Michigan
West Coast Flavor:
The Titans have two student-athletes in
Grace Brutto and newcomer
Samantha Ceballos from the state of California.
O' Canada:
Junior
Danica Paesano, seniors
Jazmine Scott and
Tia Jokic are the only student-athletes from Canada.
Outside the Mitten:
Transfer
Hailey Matthews and newcomer
Elena Neceski, who are from North Carolina and Ohio respectively, round out the six student-athletes from outside Michigan.
Newcomers:
Detroit Mercy has a diverse group of 12 newcomers in goalkeepers
Eva Hill and Grace McCromick, forwards
Sydney Osgood and
Natalia Sobh, midfielders
Samantha Ceballos,
Elena Neceski,
Rianna Shrewsberry and
Natalie Vance, defenders
Leila Lanier,
Sophia Lock,
Hailey Matthews and
Chloe Wiggins, who will look to make an immediate impact.
Titans picked Ninth in 2023 #HLWSOC Preseason Poll:
The Detroit Mercy women's soccer team was picked to finish 9th in the 2023 Horizon League women's Soccer (#HLWSOC) Preseason Poll as announced by the league office and voted on by the league's 11 head coaches. The Titans received 40 points and moved up one spot from being picked 10th prior to the 2022 season.
Season Rewind:
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.
