GAMEDAY CENTRAL       Game Notes
Preview With Coach Holtz

DETROIT (4/26/2013) -- It has come down to a “win and you're in” situation for the Detroit men's lacrosse team as the Titans battle the defending MAAC champions Canisius on Saturday in a game that will determine the fourth and final seed of the MAAC Championship.

Game time is slated for Noon at Titan Field with Senior Day festivities to go on prior to the start of the contest.

There will be live stats for this event, but no live video. Titan fans can follow every UDM game this season through the men's lacrosse GAMEDAY CENTRAL page located on the Titans Athletic Website that will keep fans one click away from all the action. This page will feature links for live stats (audio and video when applicable) as well as links for all the latest info while also making it easy to find the Titans on social media and to purchase photos and game tickets.

The nine Titan seniors who will be honored include; Brandon Davenport, John Dwyer, Jamie Hebden, Jordan Houtby, Andrew Khalil, A.J. Levell, Chris Nemes, Nick Schesnuk and Wes Steen. The group includes NCAA statistical leaders, school record holders, All-Conference performers, and multiple All-Academic honorees.

The top three seeds in the MAAC are already decided with Marist at No. 1, Jacksonville at No. 2 and Siena at No. 3, with the fourth seed going to the winner of the Titan-Golden Griffin' match-up. Both teams are 2-3 in the MAAC and have their wins over VMI and Manhattan as well as a close loss to Jacksonville.

The Titans were supposed to play two games last week, but their mid-week contest at Michigan was cancelled due to inclement weather. UDM then wrapped up the non-conference with a 14-9 setback at Marquette. Junior Alex Maini and sophomore Mike Birney each had a hat trick against the Golden Eagles, while sophomore Scott Drummond posted his third straight four-point game with a goal and three assists.

Maini and Birney are now tied for the team lead with 20 goals, while Maini has a team-high 29 points and Birney 27.
Hebden leads the defense and is currently second in the nation in caused turnovers at 2.73 per game, while Houtby is 11th causing 2.09 per contest. Houtby is also 40th in ground balls per game with 4.82. Levell is second among active NCAA players with 556 saves and is seventh with 10.94 saves per game.

Canisius comes into the game at 3-9 overall, but has won two of its last three with the lone loss a tough 11-10 decision to Jacksonville. The three wins were over VMI (10-7), Manhattan (8-6) and Binghamton (12-11).

Tim Edwards leads the team in points (38), goals (19) and assists (19), while going 21-of-41 in faceoffs with 28 ground balls. Vince Gravino is second on the squad with 25 points, 18 goals and seven assists, while Joe Rautenstrauch has tallied 23 points on 16 markers and seven helpers.

Mike Moran is the main faceoff specialist winning 136-of-220 (61.8%) with a team-high 81 ground balls, and Adam Donner paces the defense with 11 caused turnovers and 16 GB's. Alex Govenettio is the main Canisius goalie sporting an 11.63 goals against average and a .444 save percentage.

The Golden Griffins are fifth in the MAAC tallying 7.83 goals per game, while allowing 12.00 per contest.

A win by the Titans would set up a semifinals match-up with top-seeded Marist next Friday, May 3, in the conference semifinals. First faceoff for that game would be at 4:15 p.m., at the Demske Sports Complex on the campus of Canisius College.