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University of Detroit Mercy

University of Detroit Mercy Athletics
 4001 West McNichols Road Detroit, MI 48221
Division 1 Michigan Midwest
Private Small National competitor
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Steve Shelton

The University of Detroit Mercy tabbed Steve Shelton as its new head women's soccer coach in the summer of 2019. He will enter his third season as the Titan head coach in 2021-22.


In his first year, he led the Titans to a tie in his coaching debut against Northwood and then picked up two road wins as his "firsts" with his initial win on the road at Madonna and then his first Division I win on the road at Indiana State.


Shelton -- a native of Grosse Ile, Michigan -- came to the Titans after serving as an assistant coach at Ball State and head coach at Concordia (MI), while also working with the Royal Oak Football Club, the Michigan Rush and Grosse Ile High School.


"Steve is a young, energetic and local product who has already experienced a tremendous amount of success in his career," said Director of Athletics Robert C. Vowels, Jr. "His passion for coaching and mentoring student-athletes was evident from the start, and I believe he will be a great leader for the women's soccer program."


"I would like to start by thanking Robert Vowels, Holly Kerstner, Teri Kromrei and the rest of the search committee for giving me the opportunity to lead this great program," said Shelton. "Coaching at this level has always been a dream of mine and being able to do it so close to home is truly special. I couldn't be more excited to join the Titan family and continue to build on the tradition and success of this program. Although there are too many to name, I would like to thank everyone who helped me get to this point and believed in me throughout my coaching journey. I am truly grateful for your guidance and support."


Shelton was the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Ball State the last three seasons, helping the Cardinals to the 2016 MAC regular-season championship, two MAC West Division titles and a run to the MAC title game in 2018.


In his three years, Ball State was 39-13-9, including 25-4-4 in conference play. In his first year, the Cardinals reached an all-time high of No. 40 in the NCAA RPI and compiled a school-record 10-game unbeaten streak and tallied a win at ACC opponent Louisville, the first victory for Ball State over a Power 5 opponent in a decade.


Ball State also recorded a 25-game home unbeaten streak in his tenure, which was the longest in the country at the time, and won a school-record nine games in a row during the 2018 season.


Before that, Shelton was the head coach at Concordia University in Ann Arbor and completely turned around the program, helping those Cardinals post their first winning season since the late 1990s. Concordia went from one win in his first season in 2011 to 9-9-1 in his third year and back-to-back 10-win campaigns in 2014 and 2015. The team skyrocketed up the NAIA rankings from No. 178 in 2011 to No. 27 in 2015. He also coached Concordia's first All-American in Julia Palushaj, who twice led the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference in scoring, and his team was full of student-athletes, managing a team GPA better than 3.5 every year.


He began his coaching career at Grosse Ile High School, where he was a standout prep player, coaching the junior varsity team from 2007-2009 before taking over as the varsity head coach from 2009-2011. He was the 2010 Huron League Coach of the Year and his program captured two district championships and a conference title. His 2010 team was a regional finalist and second in the state and his squad was the first ever to go 14-0 in the Huron League.


He was the Director of Coaching and Player Development at the Royal Oak Football Club after leaving Ball State. Shelton was also the Director of Coaching at the Delaware County Futbol Club in Muncie while he was at Ball State and coached with the Michigan Rush Soccer Club when he was at Concordia.


As a player, Shelton was an All-State selection and set the Grosse Ile records for assists in a season (27), assists in a career (52) and goals in a game (5). He helped his high school team to a state championship in 2002 and a ranking of No. 13 nationally in 2003.


He went on to play collegiately at Kalamazoo College and graduated from Western Michigan in 2008 with a degree in public policy.


Shelton holds a USSF National A coaching license.

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Eliott Tarney

Eliott Tarney was named Assistant Coach for the University of Detroit Mercy women’s soccer program in April 2023.


Tarney returns to the Titans after serving as a Volunteer Assistant Coach for the women’s team during the 2020 season.


Tarney also serves as a Youth Soccer Coach at the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) level at Liverpool International Academy which is the highest competitive league for club soccer in the United States. He is responsible for coaching and teaching soccer, team-building and personal development skills to players between the ages of eight to 18 years old.


Prior to his time with the Titans, Tarney served as a Volunteer Assistant Coach for the Saginaw Valley State men’s soccer program in 2017-2018.


Tarney is 2016 graduate of Oakland University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. He was a four-year standout student-athlete in goal for the Golden Grizzlies’ men’s soccer program. During his senior campaign in 2015, Tarney started in 15 games as team captain recording seven shutouts for a .89 goals-against average on the season. He was named to the Horizon League All-Tournament team posting two shutouts to lead Oakland to its second consecutive HL tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearance.


Tarney remained at Oakland serving as a Graduate Assistant with the women’s soccer program earning a Master’s Degree in Counseling in 2020.


He also served as a Counselor at Berkley High School after his time as a Graduate Assistant at Oakland.

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