Gameday Central

DETROIT (9/18/2014) -- Coming off a thrilling tournament win at the UNLV Nike Invitational last weekend, the University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer team wraps up its seven-game road trip to start the season with two matches in New York this weekend. Detroit (2-2-1) travels to face Buffalo on Friday evening for a 7 p.m. match before concluding its road trip with a 2 p.m. Sunday contest at Niagara.

Both contests will have live video streaming and live statistics available. For more information on each contest, visit the UDM men's soccer Gameday Central.

UNLV Nike Invitational Recap
The Titans traveled west and earned the tournament victory on Sunday, Sept. 14. Playing in a four-team tournament, Detroit defeated Cal State Fullerton 2-1 on Friday night before tying host UNLV on Sunday, 0-0, after double overtime. Even though UNLV and Detroit tied with the same 1-0-1 record, Detroit won the tournament title because it had the edge in goals scored over the Rebels, 2-1.

The scoreless tie on Sunday against the Rebels on their home field was Detroit's first of the season. It was also the first time all season that UNLV had been shutout. The Rebels had started the season with five-straight victories, out-scoring its opponents 15-3, before tying with the Titans in 110 minutes.

Detroit started the tournament with a solid 2-1 win over Cal State Fullerton. Junior defender Jason Leslie scored his first goal of the season for the Titans and freshman forward Spiro Pliakos broke a 1-1 tie with less than 10 minutes left in the game to give Detroit the victory.

Honors for Steinwascher
Goalkeeper Nathan Steinwascher was selected as the Outstanding Defensive Player at the UNLV Nike Invitational after helping lead the Titans to the tournament win. Steinwascher recorded his first shutout of the season in Sunday's 0-0 tie against UNLV. Steinwascher also made seven saves in Detroit's 2-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton in the opener of the tournament on Friday. Steinwascher faced 32 shots overall on the weekend and finished the event with 11 saves in net. Additionally, he was named the Horizon League Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 15.

UNLV Invitational All-Tournament Team
Steinwascher wasn't the only player to receive accolades at the tournament. Forward Spiro Pliakos, midfielder Aidan Kuhls, defender Jason Leslie and Steinwascher were all named to the UNLV Nike Invitational All-Tournament Team. 

Scouting Buffalo
The Bulls are 1-5 to start the season and have played four of their six games away from Buffalo. UB's lone victory of the season came in a 3-2 overtime victory against Bryant at home on Sept. 5. Since that win, Buffalo has dropped three-straight games, including losing 2-1 at Niagara.

Sophomore midfielder Russell Cicerone, the 2013 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year, has scored three of Buffalo's five goals in 2014. He also leads the squad with 13 shots, five of which are on goal. Cicerone led the Bulls with 14 points in 2013. Freshman defender David Enstrom and sophomore midfielder Braden Culver each have one goal for the Bulls, while sophomore midfielder Nicholai Berry has assisted on two goals. Senior goalkeeper Waleed Cassis has started four of the six games in net for Buffalo and has a 1.46 goals against average and 70.0 save percentage.

Head coach Stu Riddle is in his second season at Buffalo and before that was the head coach at Western Michigan for four seasons. Riddle led WMU to back-to-back appearances in the MAC Championship game and guided the Broncos to 33 victories in four seasons.

Scouting Niagara
The Purple Eagles (3-3) are riding a two-game win streak entering Sunday's game with Detroit. Niagara earned a 2-1 home victory over Buffalo on Sept. 12 and defeated St. Bonaventure 1-0 on the road two days later on Sept. 14. Niagara's other victory this season was a 2-1 victory at Colgate on Aug. 31.

Senior forward Callum Willmott (two goals) and junior midfielder Andrew Ferguson (one goal, two assists) share the team lead with four points each. Sophomore midfielder Nicholas Watson and sophomore defender Coletun Long also have goal tallies in 2014 for the Purple Eagles. Freshmen goalkeepers Joel Gerberich and Steve Casey have split time in net for Niagara this season.

Niagara head coach Eric Barnes guided the Purple Eagles to a 5-12-1 record in his first season in 2013. 

All-Time Series
The Titans have faced Buffalo 10 times in program history and hold a 6-2-2 record against the Bulls. UDM played Buffalo last season in Detroit, tying the Bulls 2-2 on Sept. 20, 2013. Detroit also picked up the victory the last time the two programs met in New York with the Titans earning a 2-1 triumph during the 2012 season.

Detroit also has a favorable series record with Niagara, holding a 5-1 edge in that all-time meeting. These two teams haven't met since 2002 when the red, white and blue earned a 3-2 overtime win against Niagara.

First Collegiate Goals
Sophomore midfielders Adam Clauss and Matt DeVries each scored their first collegiate goals in Detroit's season-opening victory at Western Michigan. DeVries scored the game's first goal in the second half against the Broncos, while Clauss scored the game-winning tally in overtime. Clauss, who missed his freshman season because of an injury, was also playing in his first career game for the Titans.

Freshman forward Spiro Pliakos added his first collegiate goal in UDM's win over Cal State Fullerton. His tally in the 81st minute also proved to be the game-winning goal.

Youth League Day
Detroit will host an on-field clinic Saturday, Sept. 27 prior to its home opener vs. Wright State. Youth soccer players between the ages of 9 and 12 are invited to participate in the event, which will be led in part by UDM soccer players. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and the clinic will start at 10 a.m. Afterwards, the kids are invited to take in the match, which begins at 1 p.m.

Titans Selected to Finish in Tie for Seventh in Conference
The Titans were picked to finish in a tie for seventh place in the Horizon League Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released prior to the season on Aug. 20. Detroit earned 16 votes in the poll, finishing in a tie for seventh with Belmont. Milwaukee received six first-place votes and is the favorite to win the league. UIC also earned three first-place votes and ranked second behind Milwaukee in the poll.

Upcoming Schedule
After seven games on the road to start the season, Detroit has four of its next five games at home. UDM hosts Wright State on Sept. 27 for its conference and home opener at Titan Field. Detroit then hosts Oakland on Wednesday, Oct. 1. After a trip to UIC on Oct. 4, Detroit follows with home dates against IPFW (Oct. 7) and Green Bay (Oct. 11).

Social Media
Titan fans don't forget to follow #DetroitsCollegeTeam on Twitter and Instagram at @DetroitTitans and remember to like the Titans on Facebook.