DETROIT (9/18/23) – Fresh off their first #HLMSOC win of the season, the Detroit Mercy men's soccer team looks to keep the momentum going as they welcome Eastern Illinois for a non-conference tilt on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. The match will broadcast live from Titan Field on ESPN+ with Steven MacDonald on the call.
 
Last Time Out: Titans Secure First Win of the Season:
Sept. 16 – Detroit Mercy 3 vs Cleveland State 2:
Head Coach Nate Kopunek picked up his first career win as Detroit Mercy knocked off defending #HLMSOC champion Cleveland State, 3-2, on Saturday at Titan Field.
 
McCarthy Comes Up Clutch:
Sophomore captain Casey McCarthy scored his first career goal and game-winner in the Titans' 3-2 win over CSU. In the 38th minute, the Titans cashed in off a free-kick opportunity as a long ball was sent into the box that was headed back by a CSU defender which went directly to McCarthy through traffic. He then fired a rocket from just outside the box beating Yerian to the right side giving UDM the lead for good.
 
Tews the Recuse:
Sophomore Quinn Tews picked up his first career win in goal making three saves while keeping CSU off the board in the second half en route to the Titans' first #HLWSOC win of the season.
 
On the Board:
• Sophomore Guershom Sylvain added his first goal of the season and third of his career vs CSU (9/16).
• Junior captain Alex Diac posted his first career goal off a penalty kick at San Francisco (8/27).
• Senior Saeid Jannoun posted his first goal of the season at St. Mary's (8/24).
 
Freshman Firsts:
• Drew Pierson added his first career assist at St. Mary's (8/24).
• Pierson also scored his first career goal against CSU (9/16).
• The tandem of Josh Copeland and Diego Zermeno added their first career assists on Sylvain's goal against CSU (9/16).
 
Spradlin III Gets the Call:
Junior Robby Spradlin III saw his first career action at Marquette (9/1). He then got the call making his first career start in goal recording five saves while facing 15 total shots at No. 20 Notre Dame followed by his second consecutive start against Green Bay (Sept. 9).
 
A Long Time Coming:
Detroit Mercy finished the 2022 season with a with a five-game road swing and opened the 2023 campaign with a four-game road stretch. 332 days will have passed since the Titans' last home match on Oct. 12, 2022 vs Purdue Fort Wayne and Saturday night's match against Green Bay.
 
Road Warriors Racking up the Miles:
With the four consecutive road games at St. Mary's, San Francisco, Marquette and Notre Dame to open the 2023 season, the Titans have traveled a round trip total of 5,985 miles from Detroit, Mich.
 
Busy in Goal:
Tews made a season-high six saves at Marquette (9/1).
 
The Team:
The 2023 season marks the 36th year of the men's soccer program
 
Follow the Leader:
Nate Kopunek enters his first season as Head Coach of the program. Kopunek comes to the Titans after spending four seasons as an Assistant Coach at Bowling Green State University.
 
During Kopunek's four-year tenure at Bowling Green, the Falcons compiled an overall record of 37-23-10 with a 13-10-5 mark in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play. BGSU advanced to the championship match of the MAC Tournament in his first year on staff in 2019, captured the program's first outright MAC regular-season title in 2020-21 and earned a berth in back-to-back NCAA Championship Tournaments in 2020-21 and 2021.
 
Under Kopunek's guidance, BGSU had four student-athletes earn All-MAC honors including Brendan Graves who was named Mid-American Conference Co-Goalkeeper of the Year along with Joey Akpunonu and Sergi Martinez who joined Graves on the All-MAC First Team season with Alberto Anaya earning All-MAC Second Team honors following the 2022 season.
 
Akpunonu also became the first MLS SuperDraft first-round pick in BGSU program history as he was selected by FC Cincinnati with the 22nd overall pick.
 
The 2021 Fall campaign saw the Falcons post an overall record of 11-6-3 earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. 10 of BGSU's 20 matches were played against teams that advanced to the national tournament and were also against teams that finished in the top-50 of the final RPI rankings.
 
BGSU went to Louisville for the first round of the 2021 NCAA Championships and came away with a 1-0 victory over the Cardinals which marked the program's first national tournament victory since the 1997 season. Additionally, the Falcons also won six true road matches for just the third time since the 1997 campaign.
 
BG ended the 2021 season ranked 30th in the final College Soccer News poll for the second consecutive season and ranked 27th (second team listed among 'receiving votes') in the final United Soccer Coaches poll.
 
New Staff:
Assistant Coach Anthony Clark comes to the Titans after spending four seasons as an Assistant Coach at his alma mater Ohio Northern University. During his tenure at Ohio Northern, Clark specialized in creating offensive tactics for the forwards and the attacking midfield along with serving as the team's Recruiting Coordinator.
 
Under Clark's guidance, ONU finished the 2022 campaign with a 13-4-5 overall record winning the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) regular season championship with an 8-0-1 mark in conference play. The Polar Bears earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament advancing to the third round before falling to Williams (Mass.) and finished with a No. 13 ranking in the final United Soccer Coaches National Poll.
 
Assistant Coach Logan Kowalczyk comes to the Titans after a standout career as a student-athlete for the men's soccer program at Bowling Green.
 
During his tenure at BGSU, Kowalczyk started in 26 of 27 total games in goal for the Falcons compiling a 16-8-3 record while racking up 12 total shutouts and 59 saves with an impressive 0.83 goals against average (GAA). He also was a two-time Academic All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) selection and an All-MAC Second Team selection.
 
Returning Firepower:
Detroit Mercy returns sophomore and 2022 Horizon League All-Freshman Team selection Guershom Sylvain who tied for third on the team in goals (2) and points (6) and also tied for second in assists (2). Sophomore Tim Allos and graduate student and team captain Matthew Andres are back after both tied for second on the team in goals (2) and tied for fourth in points (4).
 
Senior Saeid Jannoun (1 goal, 1 assist – 3 points) and sophomore John Nino (1 goal – 2 points) round out the retuning goal scorers while junior Baldeep Gill and sophomore captain Casey McCarthy both return after each recorded an assist last season.
 
Big Shoes to Fill:
Detroit Mercy will look to replace 2021 Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year and All-HL First Team selection Jonathan Kliewer who left the program via the transfer portal. Kliewer ranked second nationally in total saves (93) and seventh in saves per game (5.47) while starting in all 17 games with a 4-7-6 record and two shutouts during the 2022 campaign.
 
The Titans also lost the top two offensive leaders from last season in All-League Second Team selection Samory Powder, who led the team in in goals (5), assists (7 – T-3rd HL) and points (17 – T-6th HL) and Ryan Pierson who ranked second on the team in goals (4), assists (2) and points (10) along with senior Rocco Galati, who tied for second on the team in goals (2) and assists (2) and tied for third in points (6).
 
Home Grown Talent:
Detroit Mercy has 28 student-athletes from the state of Michigan.
 
International Flavor:
The Titans have four international student-athletes including two from Canada in Matthew Andres (Ontario) and Baldeep Gill (Ontario), one from Mexico in Diego Zermeno and Viktor Sulc from the Czech Republic.
 
Around the Country:
Jackson Towers (Ohio) and Fisher Hudak (New Jersey) are the only two out-of-state student-athletes on the roster.
 
Newcomers:
Detroit Mercy has a diverse group of eight newcomers in goalkeeper Viktor Sulc; midfielders Silas Rustin, Zain Akeel, Josh Copeland and Diego Zermeno; defenders Drew Pierson, Ryan Moody and Joey Iaquaniello who will look to make an immediate impact.
 
Smart Cookies:
The Detroit Mercy men's soccer team continues to demonstrate the program's commitment to academic and athletic success by earning the United Soccer Coaches College Team Academic Award for the 2022-23 academic year. The men's team posted a 3.41 overall GPA to qualify for the ninth time.
 
Titans picked 11th in 2023 Under Armour #HLMSOC Preseason Poll:
The Detroit Mercy men's soccer team was picked to finish 11th in the 2023 Under Armour Horizon League Men's Soccer (#HLMSOC) Preseason Poll as announced by the league office and voted on by the league's 10 head coaches.
 
Season Rewind:
Sept. 9 – Detroit Mercy 0 vs Green Bay 2:
Freshman Drew Pierson posted a shot on goal while sophomore Guershom Sylvain added two shots as Detroit Mercy fell 2-0 to Green Bay in the #HLMSOC home opener at Titan Field.  
 
The Titans (0-5, 0-1HL) almost got on board early in the game in the 10th minute as Pierson got the ball inside the 18-yard and fired a shot to the low left side forcing Green Bay (3-1-1, 1-0 HL) goalkeeper Tobias Jahn to make a diving save.
 
Sept. 5 – Detroit Mercy 0 at No. 20 Notre Dame 1:
Junior Robby Spradlin III made his first career start in goal making five saves while facing 15 total shots as Detroit Mercy battled No. 20 Notre Dame for the entire match in a 1-0 setback on Tuesday at Alumni Field.
 
After the Fighting Irish (3-0-1) took a 1-0 lead just 18 minutes into the match, Spradlin III and the young back line consisting of sophomores Casey McCarthy and John Nino and freshmen Drew Pierson and Joey Iaquaniello held ND scoreless in the second half.
 
Sept. 1 – Detroit Mercy 0 at Marquette 6:
Sophomore Guershom Sylvain posted four shots with two on goal while freshman Diego Zermeno and Drew Pierson along with sophomore John Nino each recorded a shot on goal as Detroit Mercy fell 6-0 at Marquette on Friday night at Valley Fields.
 
Aug. 27 – Detroit Mercy 1 at San Francisco 2:
Junior and team captain Alex Diac scored his first career goal off a penalty kick just before halftime as Detroit Mercy battled but came up short at San Francisco, 2-1, at Negoesco Stadium. Sophomore goalkeeper Quinn Tews faced 14 total shots making three saves.
 
The Dons got off to a quick start taking a 1-0 lead just six minutes into the match and moved ahead 2-0 in the 12th minute. In the 40th minute, sophomore Tim Allos made a run getting behind the last defender that forced San Francisco goalkeeper Eric Waltz to come off his line. Waltz came in hard with his challenge and took out Allos resulting in a penalty kick. Diac calmly stepped up and buried the penalty kick into the back of the net beating Waltz to the lower right side to pull the Titans within a goal at 2-1.
 
Aug. 24 – Detroit Mercy 1 at St. Mary's 5:
Jannoun posted his first goal of the season off the first career assist from freshman Drew Pierson as Detroit Mercy fell 5-1 in season-opening action at St. Mary's on Thursday night at Saint Mary's Stadium.
 
In the first half, Detroit Mercy had quality scoring chances posting seven shots with three on goal but could not get on the board.
Conversely, St, Mary's capitalized on their scoring chances posting goals in the 27th, 36th, and 38th minute to take a 3-0 lead.
 
After falling behind 5-0 in the second half, Jannoun was able to slip past the last defender down the right side in the 75th minute. He then took the feed from Pierson and fired a shot to the low left side putting the Titans on the board.