Men's Soccer Preview, Part 7: Detroit

Aug. 23, 2006

Expectations are high for the Detroit Titans entering the 2006 season. With several returning starters and some high profile recruits, the Titans are looking to improve on a 2005 season which saw Detroit win its second ever regular season Horizon League Championship and advance to the tournament title game for the second straight season. Head coach Morris Lupenec returns for a 15th year behind the bench and is hopeful the high expectations will translate into the team's second ever NCAA tournament berth.

Goalkeepers

Detroit returns Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year Sasha Boskovic. As a sophomore last season, the All-Horizon League first team member became the first Titan goalie to play every minute of every game in net. He recorded seven shutouts and had 85 saves for a 1.30 goals against average last season.

Backing up Boskovic will be freshman Bryan Kloss and sophomore Richard Fatyma. Kloss was first team All-State as a senior at Bishop Foley, while Fatyma was an All-Catholic League second team member at U-D Jesuit High School two years ago.

Defense

Three starters must be replaced along the backline. Returning however is 2005 Horizon League Defender of the Year and two-time All-League selection Jason Massoglia. He provides an offensive force in addition to his defense as he was second on the team with eight goals a year ago.

Competing for the other spots along the defensive line will be returning players Alex Kawalit and Barry Brown along with newcomers Jordan Veit, Ken Simon and Brett Windecker. Kawalit, a senior, appeared in all 20 games last season, starting eight, while Brown, a fifth-year senior, appeared in 14 games and scored his first career goal. Veit, a junior who transferred from Macomb Community College has a good chance to earn a starting spot, as does Simon, a freshman from Brighton, who also could earn a spot in the midfield. Windecker, a freshman from Plymouth, will be counted on to provide depth at several spots.

Midfield

The midfield will be a strong and experienced group led by senior Vahid Assadpour. Assadpour led the team last year with 10 assists, often coming off corner kicks as he took a majority of the teams 118 corners last year. Assadpour also contributed four goals. Joining him on the midline will be Renato Susnja. A transfer from Schoolcraft College, he will be looked upon to help offset the loss of 2005 Horizon League Player of the Year. Andrew Ornoch. Susnja proved his scoring abilities last season with 10 goals and nine assists in only 11 games for the Ocelots.

Adding to the midfield will be returnees Christian King, Joe Hess, Alex Popescu, Kyle Gianotti, and Kawalit. King and Hess are strong contenders for starting spots, King, who started 17 games last season, was tied for second with five assists last year, while Hess, who started 15 games last year providing three goals, including a pair of game winners. Popescu and Gianotti are both seniors who will be counted on for their leadership and their ability to provide depth on the midline. Newcomers Robert Merritt, Simon and Windecker could also see some time here.

Forwards

Replacing Ornoch, the fourth leading goal scorer in Detroit history is not easy, but the Titans have several talented forwards who will try and do so. Leading the way is junior Nick Servedio. A transfer from Alderson Broddus, Servedio was all set to be a major contributor to the 2005 team, before a torn ACL forced him to miss the entire year. Now healthy, he will be counted on to anchor the Detroit front line.

Other players looking to contribute are Mark Djurovski, Tristan Horvath, Ray Hannish and Brandon Powell. Midfielder Merritt and defenseman Brown could also shift over here. Djurovski, a transfer who played for East Carolina, will be a contender for a starting spot, as will Horvath, who scored one goal and two assists in nine starts as a freshman a year ago. Hannish and Powell, both sophomores, will be looked upon to provide quality depth.

Schedule

Facing high expectations from a conference where several All-League players return, the Titan coaching staff worked hard to put together a challenging 2006 non-conference slate that will prepare them for the League season.

The season begins with two tournaments, one at Bowling Green and one in Buffalo. On September 1, Detroit will face off against Buffalo, which went 14-3-2 and advanced to the MAC Championship game a year ago. Other non-conference games include home games against Centenary, IPFW, Bowling Green and in-state rival Oakland, and road games at Michigan and Western Michigan.

It will be important for the Titans to get off to a strong start in Horizon League play, as their first three conference games are at home followed by the last four all on the road.

Detroit opens the conference season September 15 with the anticipated rematch against UW-Milwaukee. After ending the Panthers run of four straight regular season titles, the Titans saw UWM get revenge with a 1-0 win the league finals at Titan Field. It was the second straight year that the Panthers defeated Detroit in the league championship game. UIC and UW-Green Bay round out the home league slate, while the Titans will travel to Loyola, Butler, Wright State and Cleveland State. The top four teams in the Horizon League standings will host quarterfinal games on October 28, while the semifinals and championship game will be held November 3-5 at the site of the highest remaining seed.

Story provided by UDM Office of Sports Information