DAYTON — The Wright State women's soccer program will host Detroit Mercy for its annual Pink Game on Thursday, October 12. The conference matchup is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff from Alumni Field. Live stats will also be available.
Wright State's Zeta Tau Alpha will hold a 50-50 raffle at the match. All proceeds benefit the ZTA Foundation, which encourages everyone to "Think Pink" with breast cancer education and awareness efforts.
MATCH INFORMATION
Thursday, October 12 - 7 p.m. -
Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders are coming off a 4-0 loss at Milwaukee on Sunday. Wright State finished with eight shots, including five on goal.
Lauren Borchert led the way with a team-leading three shots, while
Olivia Mace added two shots on frame. Freshman defenders
Kaitlyn Eyink and
Zara Graff logged 90 minutes of action to pace the back line. MKE came out firing with three goals in the opening half and added its fourth goal in the 48th minute.
SCOUTING THE TITANS
Detroit Mercy is 5-6-3 on the season and tied for fifth in the HL standings with a 3-3 league record. The Titans boast conference wins over Youngstown State, Green Bay, and Purdue Fort Wayne. Sophia Blankenship and Abbey Lodato are tied for first on the team with nine points, while Gabby Ketola and Soroya Puerto-Khalil have tallied a program-best four assists. Goalkeeper Jazmine Scott has allowed only two goals over her last three starts.
HISTORY VS. UDM
Wright State has gone 16-14-5 in 35 career meetings against Detroit Mercy. WSU has dropped its last two meetings against UDM, which included a 3-2 loss in 2022.
Lauren Borchert and
Marcella Sizer netted second-half goals in last season's defeat. The Raiders last win over the Titans at home transpired in 2014.
TWO-TIME DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kiera Sarka has twice claimed Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honors this season. She earned the recognition after compiling a four-save shutout at Green Bay (9/14) and a seven-save shutout against Oakland (9/30). The senior has tallied four shutouts through 13 appearances (12 starts) this season and possesses top-40 national marks in total saves (26th, 70) and saves per game (32nd, 5.38). She recorded a career-high 14 saves versus Dayton (9/3), tied for 13th-most by a Division I goalkeeper in 2023 and the highest mark by a Raider since Maddie Jewell's 14 saves against Milwaukee (11/2/17) during the 2017 campaign.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Milwaukee sits atop the Horizon League standings with 18 points, followed by IUPUI in second with 12 points. Wright State and Robert Morris are tied for third place with 10 points, while Oakland, Northern Kentucky, and Detroit Mercy sit in a three-way tie for fifth with nine points. Purdue Fort Wayne (8) and Youngstown State (7) have also positioned themselves into postseason contention with three weeks remaining in the regular season. The top-six teams will earn a spot in the Horizon League Championship, which begins with the third and fourth seeds hosting quarterfinal matchups on October 29. The No. 1 seed will host the HL semifinals and championship from November 2-4.
Click here to view the full standings.
VETERAN LEADER
Fifth-year senior
Kaylin Helinski is tied for first on the team with five points on two goals and one assist this season. She totaled her five points in three consecutive games, scoring goals against Youngstown State (9/21) and Robert Morris (9/24) and adding an assist at Green Bay (9/14).
SHE'S CLUTCH
Lauren Borchert is tied for third in the Horizon League with two game-winning goals. The Richfield, Ohio native scored her first goal of the 2023 campaign versus Southern Indiana (8/24) and added a game-winner at Green Bay (9/14).
BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE
Sophia Kuerze enjoyed a breakout performance in Wright State's 2-1 victory over Akron (9/10), as she was responsible for both of the Raiders' goals. The freshman opened the scoring with her first collegiate goal at the 25-minute mark and followed with a game-winning assist in the 73rd minute. Her three points were the most by a Raider this season.
REPRESENTING KANKAKEE
Macey Moore and
Elise Kukuck — both natives of Kankakee, Illinois and 2023 alums of Herscher High School — scored their first collegiate goals in the opening half of Wright State's 3-2 win over Youngstown State (9/21).
ALL-CONFERENCE TALENT
Wright State returns four All-Horizon League selections from last season.
Marcella Sizer became the second individual in program history to earn League Offensive Player of the Year after leading the team in points (15) and goals (6).
Lauren Borchert topped the conference in shots on goal per game (1.67) and shots on goal (30) en route to All-League Second Team honors.
Elise Canter (4 goals) and
Kaylee Pham (18 starts, 1,601 minutes) garnered All-Freshman Team accolades.
MEET THE COACHES
The Raiders are led by third-year head coach
Travis Sobers, a longtime assistant coach at WSU before taking reigns on the sidelines two summers ago. The former Wright State men's soccer standout player guided the Raiders to an 8-7-3 overall record and a 5-2-3 mark in conference play last year, good for the program's first winning seasons in both categories since 2019. First-year assistant coach
Krystle Seidel joined the staff in May 2023 after a four-year head coaching stint at Macalester College and nine seasons at the University of Minnesota.
PRESEASON POLL
The Raiders were picked seventh in the annual Horizon League preseason poll, which the league's 11 head coaches voted on. Defending conference champion Milwaukee topped the poll, while Oakland was close behind in second.
2023 SQUAD
WSU welcomes ten newcomers — all freshmen — to this season's squad. The Raiders' 29-player roster includes nine returning sophomores, four juniors, four seniors, and two fifth-year student-athletes.
OHIO STRONG
Wright State's 2023 roster features 20 players from Ohio. Four Raiders —
Addy Canter,
Elise Canter,
Ashley Vaughn, and
Heidi Orloff — came to WSU from nearby Beavercreek High School. Another three individuals —
Annika Samborski,
Brandi Greenlee, and
Olivia Mace — prepped at Centerville High School.
CAREER LEADERS (at Wright State only)
Goals
Lauren Borchert - 9
Marcella Sizer - 8
Kaylin Helinski - 8
Assists
Olivia Mace - 9
Lauren Borchert - 4
Marcella Sizer - 3
Points
Lauren Borchert - 22
Marcella Sizer - 19
Kaylin Helinski - 18
Saves
Kiera Sarka - 76
Erin Baker - 41
Games
Kaylin Helinski - 70
Lauren Borchert - 58
Olivia Mace - 49
Starts
Kaylin Helinski - 54
Lauren Borchert - 52
Olivia Mace - 45
UP NEXT
The Raiders face a road meeting at Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday, October 15. The HL matchup will kickoff at 1 p.m. and stream on ESPN+.
