DETROIT (8/14/24) – The Detroit Mercy women's soccer team kicks off the 2024 campaign with a road match at Bowling Green on Thursday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live from Cochrane Stadium on YouTube.
The Team:
The 2024 season marks the 31st year of the women's soccer program.
Head Coach
Steve Shelton is in his sixth season with the program.
Movin' On Up:
Detroit Mercy was picked to finish eighth in the 2024 #HLWSOC Preseason Poll receiving 54 points. During the 2023 campaign, the Titans finished sixth after being picked to finish ninth.
Better Later Than Never to Prove Them Wrong:
With the Metro Series victory over arch-rival Oakland to conclude the 2023 regular season, Detroit Mercy qualified for the #HLWSOC Championship for the first time since the 2018 season as the No. 6 seed. Before the season, UDM was picked to finish ninth in the 2023 Preseason Poll receiving 40 points and moving up one spot from being picked 10th prior to the 2022 season.
Returning Firepower:
• The Titans have 23 returners led by junior midfielder and #HLWSOC All-League First Team selection
Abbey Lodato who led the team in points (14), goals (6), shots (44), and shots on goal (21) while tying for fourth in assists (2).
• Junior midfielder
Soraya Puerto-Khalil also returns after ranking second on the team in assists (4) with a goal to tie for sixth in points (6).
• Senior caption
Erica Toupin is back after posting two goals with an assist totaling five points.
Last Line of Defense:
• #HLWSOC All-Freshman Team selection and defender
Leila Lanier returns after helping anchor the back line to four shutout wins last season. She recorded her first career assist in UDM's 2-1 Metro Series win against arch-rival Oakland (10/25) helping the Titans qualify for the #HLWSOC Championship for the first time since the 2018 season.
• Graduate Student defender
Hailey Matthews also returns after having quite the debut season for the Titans tying for third on the team in goals (3), ranking third in assists (3), and fifth in points (9) from her defensive position.
• She posted three points scoring the game-winning goal and assisting the first goal leading UDM to a 2-1 Metro Series win against arch-rival Oakland (10/25) snapping a six-game skid against the Golden Grizzlies and helping the Titans qualify for the 2023 #HLWSOC Championship for the first time since the 2018 season.
• Scored the game-winning goal to lead Detroit Mercy to a 2-1 #HLWSOC opening win over YSU for her second goal of the season and added her second assist at RMU (9/30).
• Recorded three points 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.
Between the Pipes:
Senior
Marisa Silver, transfer
Chantelle Symes, junior
Holli Brown, and sophomores
Grace McCormick and
Eva Hill will look to compete in goal.
Home Sweet Home:
Last season, Detroit Mercy finished the regular season with a perfect 5-0 record in #HLWSOC matches at Titan Field with wins over YSU, Green Bay, PFW, CSU and Oakland.
Made in the Mitten:
Detroit Mercy has 28 student-athletes from the state of Michigan
Around the U.S.:
The Titans have five student-athletes from outside the state of Michigan with two from California, two from North Carolina and one from Ohio.
West Coast Vibes:
Grace Brutto and
Samantha Ceballos are from San Diego and Whittier, California respectively.
Down South:
Graduate student
Hailey Matthews and redshirt senior transfer
Madelyn Baucom are from North Carolina while freshman
Natalie Dye is the lone student-athlete from Ohio
International Flavor
The squad also has four international students
O' Canada:
Senior
Danica Paesano, graduate student
Tia Jokic and freshman
Mya Mascaro are the three student-athletes from Canada.
The Land Down Under:
Senior transfer
Chantelle Symes is the lone student-athlete from Australia.
Newcomers:
• Detroit Mercy has a diverse group of 14 newcomers headlined by Georgia and Wisconsin transfer and Canton, Mich. native
Joyelle Washington who helped the Badgers reach the Round of 16 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament and led the Bulldogs in game-winning goals (3) while ranking second on the team in goals (5) and third in points (11) in 2022.
• In addition to Washington, the Titans have added four additional transfers in
Justice Tillotson (UTEP) and
Mikayla Duncan, who are both Michigan natives, along with
Madelyn Baucom (Kennesaw State) and Syms (Southern Illinois) for a total of five.
• UDM adds a total of nine freshman in
Addison Ayris,
Maria Bara,
Kyleen Bradow,
Natalie Dye,
Olivia Karkaba,
Mya Mascaro,
Camryn Pepper,
Sam Sickinger, and
Amelia Streberger who will look to make an immediate impact.
Return of the MAC:
Detroit Mercy will compete against three schools from the Mid-American Conference in BGSU, Toledo, and Western Michigan. Additionally, the Titans played exhibition matches against Central Michigan (8/8) and Eastern Michigan (8/11).
