University of Detroit Mercy Athletics

Head women’s soccer coach Mike Lupenec announced that former Titan midfielder Nicole Gipson will return to the coaching staff for her second season as a graduate assistant in the 2010 season.

“Nicole was a blue collar player for us as well as a team captain,” said Lupenec. “She was a very experienced player who led by example in and out of the classroom and I believe she will do a great job for us acting as that go-between the head coach and the players.”

During her four years as a Titan (2005-08), Gipson played in 76 games with 69 starts. She tallied five goals and eight assists for 18 points wearing the red, white and blue, including three game-winning goals. One of those game winners came against Youngstown State on Oct. 28, 2007, a game Detroit won 4-0 giving UDM its first-ever victory on the newly renovated Titan field.

She started her career helping the Titans reach the HL Championship as a freshman, where Detroit tied Milwaukee, 0-0, in double overtime, before falling in penalty kicks. For her efforts, which included an assist on the game-winning goal in the semi-finals victory over Loyola, she was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Gipson graduated in May 2009 from Detroit with a 3.431 GPA in criminal justice and is currently pursuing her master’s in intelligence analysis. She was a three-year member of both the Horizon League and UDM’s Athletic Director’s honor roll.