The University of Detroit Mercy will induct seven new members into its Hall of Fame in December. The Class of 2014 includes: Perry Watson (coach), Lisa Blackburn (basketball), Lee Knorek (basketball), Mary Latham (Parker) (soccer), Jorge Ferreira (soccer), Kim Hemstreet (cross country) and the 1972 NCAA National Championship men's fencing team. As we count down to Hall of Fame weekend from Dec. 12-13, DetroitTitans.com will feature each of the seven inductees.

DETROIT (11/14/2014) -- Mary Latham (Parker) reveled in being the best on the pitch, scoring goals and getting the better of the opponent. But what was most important to her was the result at the end of the day and that was earning the win in a Detroit uniform.

Latham did that plenty during her four-year career from 2003-06 at the University of Detroit Mercy. The Titans won 43 matches during Latham's four seasons, reaching the Horizon League Championship game all four years and advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2004 after winning the tournament title over Milwaukee.

"I guess I did pride myself on being the best," Latham said in a phone interview earlier this fall. "I wanted to be the best, I wanted to score the most goals. I tried hard to do that. But the wins for the team were first."

Latham was named Horizon League Player of the Year twice during her career, as a sophomore in 2004 and senior in 2006, and was voted All-Horizon League First Team all four seasons. She led the conference in goals and points for three consecutive seasons (2004, 2005, 2006) and was also named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team all four seasons, while being named the Tournament MVP as a freshman in 2003.

She was also named the Detroit President's Award winner as a senior, given to the most outstanding senior student athlete at the University – the athletic department's highest honor – and was the recipient of the Horizon League's Cecil N. Coleman Medal of Honor in 2007, presented annually to the Horizon League's top male and female student-athletes who best exemplify the dignity and high purpose of the Horizon League and its membership.

For her career, she tallied 47 goals and 17 assists for 111 points. She ranks third all-time in goals and fourth in program history in points, although her totals are the most for any player who started their careers in the 2000 season or later.

Latham also holds single-game Horizon League records with five goals and 12 points in a 2004 match against Cleveland State. She scored 10 goals in a season three times during her career, totaling 16 goals in 2004 and a career-high 17 goals during her senior season in 2006. Latham is the last Detroit women's soccer player to score 10 or more goals in a season.

UDM head coach Mike Lupenec has coached and watched many great players during his 22-year tenure at Detroit and knows just how great Latham was during her Titan career.

"She was one of the top players that we have ever had in this program," Lupenec said. "She deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. She was a great midfielder who knew how to take advantage of certain situations. Everyone she stepped on the field with knew that she was a threat regardless of who we played.

"She was not only a great finisher around the goal, but also a good soccer player. She never lost the ball and kept possession. She was just a big reason why we had so much success from 2003 to 2006 and a big reason why we made it to the tournament and got by Michigan."

Latham helped Detroit past Milwaukee in the Horizon League Championship in 2004 and to its first NCAA Tournament match against Michigan. She helped lead the Titans to an upset over the Wolverines, 3-2, a moment that Latham remembers fondly.

"It was obviously exciting winning the Horizon League Championship and knowing that we were going to the NCAA Tournament," Latham said. "It hadn't been done in awhile (winning a HL Championship). When we found out that we were playing Michigan, a school that's close to us that we don't normally play, I just remember us practicing and acting like it was a normal game. We were so loose and we were just playing and having fun and all of a sudden we go up 3-0, which was unbelievable.

"I just remember saying, 'oh my gosh, we can actually do this.' Winning that game was awesome. After the game, I remember there were Michigan girls on the other team saying that they would just have to go to Michigan football game now. None of them had planned on losing to us. It felt really good to beat them."

The win over Michigan in 2004 remains the only NCAA Tournament win by a Titan program other than the men's basketball team.

While winning in the NCAA Tournament was a highlight in Latham's career, any victory over Milwaukee was a close second. Latham recalls beating top-seeded Milwaukee in the Horizon League semifinals in her senior season, while also scoring the game-winning goal, as a big highlight in her final season.

"We knew we had to beat Milwaukee pretty much every year," Latham said. "Our goal was to win the Horizon League and beat Milwaukee along the way. Beating Milwaukee my senior year on their field was a big highlight."

Not only did she score goals during her Titan career, but she scored important ones. Latham tallied 18 game-winning goals, easily the most in school history. She had at least four game-winning goals each season. All four of her goals as a freshman in 2003 were of the game-winning variety and she had two seasons with five game-winners.

"When she came into the conference, you knew that she would do big things," Lupenec said. "She just changed the complexion of the game. She was an all-around big player, who had the athleticism. She could hit the ball in from 25 yards out."

Latham wasn't just a star performer on the field, but she earned several academic honors off the soccer pitch. She was selected to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District First Team in 2005 and 2006, CoSIDA All-American First Team in 2006 and was an NSCAA/Adidas College Women Scholar All-America in 2006. She was also tabbed to the Soccer Buzz All-Great Lakes Region First Team (2006), Second Team (2005) and Third Team (2004).

"The classes I had at UDM prepared me for the upper level courses in pharmacy school and the time management I learned also prepared me well the past couple of years," Latham said. "The college experience at Detroit has prepared me for everything since."

Latham, who was a standout at Troy Athens High School prior to her collegiate career, just recently graduated in May from pharmacy school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She's looking forward to returning to Detroit in December for the Hall of Fame ceremony.

"I'm so thankful for my time at UDM," Latham said. "Everybody in athletics was unbelievable, from Mike (Lupenec) to the Athletic Directors and staff, it was a great atmosphere to be a student-athlete.

"It's such an honor to be included with some of the people that have already been inducted," she added. "It's something that I hadn't thought about in awhile, so when I got the call, it wasn't something I was expecting. I was pretty excited."