The Detroit defense withstood an overtime flurry from the Eastern Michigan offense to keep Tuesday’s contest scoreless and for the second straight season neither team was able to find the back of the net.

 
Both teams had their fair share of chances as the Eagles (2-1-1) outshot the Titans 27-14 while holding only a 10-8 advantage in shots on goal, but solid defense and high-caliber goalkeeping prevailed. It was the fourth time in 15 meetings that the two programs have played to a tie and the third time the team’s have ended a game knotted at 0-0.

 
The contest was originally scheduled for Scicluna Field in Ypsilanti, but unplayable field conditions caused the game to be moved to Titan Field in Detroit and made the Titans the home team.

 
Detroit head coach Mike Lupenec praised the goalkeeping of sophomore Joanna Hinde (Shelby Twp., MI/Eisenhower) and the play of Detroit’s entire back line against the Eagles late offensive surge that saw them take 11 shots in the overtime periods compared to the Titans’ two.

 
“Joanna (Hinde) came back from a poor game last time and showed that she’s a Division I goalie today,” said Lupenec. “She made some excellent, athletic saves and played very hard. Our whole defense played hard today. We’ve known they’re strong and they continue to improve.”

 
Hinde made several diving saves late in the second period and in the overtimes and was aggressive in coming out from the net to challenge Eastern Michigan on breakaways. The Eagles best chance to get on the board came with 4:39 remaining in regulation after Hinde was given a yellow card for tripping Eastern’s Stephanie Janssens in the box. Janssens’ shot hit the cross bar and sailed out-of-bounds, one of several shots off the cross bar for EMU, and the score remained deadlocked. Hinde recorded 10 saves for the second game in a row, all in the second half and the overtime periods.

 
Freshman Nina Carter (Clinton Twp., MI/Chippewa Valley) continued to be a key to the Titans’ offense, leading the attack with four shots and two on goal. Sophomores Rebecca Pidgeon (Ann Arbor, MI/Huron) and Alyssa Korson (Suttons Bay, MI/Lake Leelanau St. Mary’s) each recorded two shots as well, putting two and one on goal, respectively. And senior Trina Kochanski (Royal Oak, MI/Kimball) and sophomore Alexandra Suschak (Brecksville, OH/Brecksville) each put one shot on goal.

 
“Rebecca (Pidgeon) came in and did some nice things for us and gave us a lot of energy,” said Lupenec.

 
Despite being shut out for the second consecutive game, Lupenec noted that the offense is showing progress and it is just a matter of time before his young team starts converting on more of their chances. The Titans featured four freshman in their starting lineup against Eastern Michigan.

 
“We had lots of opportunities,” he said. “We just missed some passes from our midfielders to forwards in the final third. That kind of thing will come with some more work. The effort is there, we just need to keep building on what we’ve got and move forward.

 
“Some girls stepped up today who haven’t stepped up like we’ve needed them to before. We’re only three games into the season, and if we can keep making progress like we have so far we’re going to be okay.”

 
Barring any more changes in plan Detroit (1-1-1) will begin it’s first road trip of the season Friday as the Titans travel to Indianapolis for a 6 p.m. showdown with IUPUI. Last season Hinde posted her first career shut out against the Jaguars and junior Selena Stanski (Tecumseh, ON/St. Anne’s Secondary) netted the game-winning goal with under six minutes to play. IUPUI (3-2-0) topped Indiana State in its last contest and is currently riding a three-game winning streak that also includes victories over Butler University and the University of Evansville.

 
Detroit will be in Indiana again on Sunday for a date with IPFW (0-3-1) in Fort Wayne. The Titans blanked IPFW 4-0 in their last meeting on Sept. 18, 2007.