The Titans open their stadium against Lehigh tomorrow at 2:00, the second half of a double-header (and part of a can drive organized by team parents), as the women take on UC-Davis at 11AM. The Titans technically had a home game in their 19-3 win over Mercer last weekend, but it took place at Ultimate Soccer in Pontiac.
Following the game against Mercer, freshman attack Shayne Adams and sophomore LSM were named the MAAC offensive and defensive player of the week, respectively.
The Schedule
The Mountain Hawks have started out 2-1, losing the game they were expected to, and winning the two games against lesser competition. Alas, there are very few schools out there for whom Detroit does not qualify as “lesser competition.”
Lehigh started off with a 16-7 victory over St. Joe’s (winless on the season), before falling on the road at Villanova, by a narrow 8-9 score. Villanova is a pretty strong team out of the Big East, so the close margin is encouraging for Lehigh.
In their most recent game, the Mountain Hawks beat a 1-3 Navy team at home, by a 14-10 score. The Midshipmen’s three losses are all against good competition, and all by close scores.
Players to Watch
Lehigh is led in scoring by sophomore attack Dante Fantoni, with 7 goals and 6 assists on the year. Not far behind is senior midfielder Jonathan Stmupf, with 5 goals and 4 assists on the season.
Next, the Mountain Hawks have a trio of players who are primarily finishers, in junior attack Adam Johnston (7 goals, no assists), sophomore attack David DiMaria (6 goals, 1 assist), and junior midfielder Cameron Lao-Gosney (5 goals, 1 assist).
Defensively, Lehigh is led by senior Richard Bradley and sophomore Baxter Lanius, tied for the team lead with 3 caused turnovers. Bradley is joined by junior Blaise Fullen and Freshman Ty Souders on the starting D.
Sophomore Dan Carr is the primary starter between the pipes. He has a .469 save percentage on the year, and has played all but 44 seconds for the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh is an excellent faceoff team, with sophomore Ryan Snyder (not that Ryan Snyder) winning an incredible 73.9% of his draws. He should abuse UDM’s faceoff men all game.
Predictions
Though the on-campus home opener might provide an emotional boost for the Titans, the competition they’re facing is much better in almost every facet. They will get destroyed on faceoffs, and perform worse than the Mountain Hawks in the clear/ride game, too.
On top of that, Lehigh has some very skilled players on offense, as well as a solid defense. They should be a more efficient team than the Titans as well.
In the end, I see Detroit doing well early in the game, but as the excitement of the home opener wears off, they’ll struggled, and eventually be dominated. 14-6 in favor of Lehigh.
Failed clears was the story of the game. UDM just gave away WAY too many possessions.