Gameday Central
Game Notes vs. Robert Morris

DETROIT (2/21/2014) -- A busy opening week continues for the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team as the Titans will play their third game in eight days when they travel to Robert Morris on Sunday, Feb. 23. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m., at Joe Walton Stadium.

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.

UDM has split its first two games and both contests have been one-goal affairs as the Titans beat Mercer, 11-10, before falling to Michigan in overtime, 14-13. Detroit is off to its fastest start in offense in school history with 24 goals through two games with nine different players tallying at least one goal.

Junior Scott Drummond leads the team with eight points on three goals and five assists, while seniors Alex Maini and Tom Masterson have three goals and three assists apiece.

The Titan defense has caused 11 turnovers in each of the first two games and Detroit has picked up 60 total ground balls.

Detroit will remain on the road next week when the red, white and blue take VMI next Saturday, Mar. 1.

ROAD OPENERS
Detroit is 0-5 all-time in road openers, but it should be noted that three of those meetings were at Ohio State and the other two at a top-20 Delaware squad.

VS. THE NEC
Detroit is 1-8 all-time against current teams from the Northeast Conference with the lone win over Wagner in 2010. UDM did have a win over Quinnipiac in 2012, but the Bobcats are now a member of the MAAC.

The Titans have lost all four meetings to Robert Morris, twice to Mount St. Mary's, and a game apiece to Bryant and St. Josephs.

DETROIT VS. ROBERT MORRIS
This will be the fifth career meeting between the two schools and the fourth that has occurred in Moon Township, Pa., as the Colonials have won all four match-ups.

The last two games have been very competitive with UDM dropping a 14-13 overtime decision at home in 2011 and a 9-5 contest on the road last year.

ABOUT THE COLONIALS
Robert Morris will play its second game and home opener against the Titans after starting the season with a 10-7 loss at Bellarmine. RMU was picked to finish second in the Northeast Conference (NEC) coaches' preseason poll behind only two-time defending NEC champion Bryant.

JonPatrik Kealey led the offense with three goals in the opener, while James Rahe tallied two goals and an assist. Eric Rankel - who had a goal against Bellarmine - was All-NEC First Team last year after topping the team in goals (28) and points (40), one of five 20-goal scorers RMU had in 2013.

Sean Meagher was tabbed the NEC Defensive Player of the Year after setting a school record in caused turnovers (38) and tallying a career-high in ground balls (45).

Chris Barney was 15-of-21 in faceoffs in the opener picking up 12 ground balls and Brian Bohn made 15 saves in net.

The RMU defense had 14 caused turnovers in its first game, but also had 25 turnovers.

LAST TIME VS. ROBERT MORRIS
Despite a pair of goals from Shayne Adams and Alex Maini, Detroit could not get the offense going as the Titans dropped a 9-5 contest at Robert Morris.

Maini also added an assist and Brandon Beauregard had a goal and a helper.

The Titans got on the board first as Adams took a pass from Maini and fired one past the goalie nearly six minutes into the game.

UDM held the lead for the next four minutes, but Robert Morris then got into an offensive grove with five-straight goals to take a 5-1 advantage with 3:33 left in the first half. The Titans would cut into that as Tyler Corcoran won a faceoff and after Andy Hebden's shot hit the post, Beauregard followed with a marker at the 2:34 mark.

The Colonials though would get that back scoring with 52 seconds left and taking a 6-2 lead into the break.

Detroit came out firing in the second half and was able to get within three, 6-3 with 12:26 to play in the third, but RMU once again regained a four-goal lead and then took an 8-3 advantage early in the fourth.

DENNIS SELECTED AS A SENIOR CLASS AWARD® CANDIDATE
Senior Troy Dennis of the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team received a great honor as he was one of 20 NCAA® lacrosse student-athletes who excel both on and off the field and were selected as candidates for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate men's lacrosse.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

RELOADING THE DEFENSE
The Titans knew they had to build their defense back up after the graduation of a number of key starters and players from last year's NCAA Tournament team and after the first two games, it looks like Detroit has the right pieces to do just that.

Detroit saw Mercer commit 16 turnovers and 11 of them were forced by a squad that historically ranks among the leaders in caused turnovers. UDM came right back with 11 caused turnovers in the 20 Michigan had on Wednesday.

Junior defenseman Joe Gifford led the way with a game and career-high four caused turnovers versus Mercer and added three more against Michigan, while sophomore defenseman Jordan Yono came away with three against the Bears and sophomore Paul Bitetti had a career and game-high four in the close setback to the Wolverines.

FINALLY THE FIRST
Senior Drew Schupbach waited four years for his first collegiate marker and it finally happened as the midfielder beat Michigan's goalie during a Titan run against the Wolverines.

FROM DEFENSE TO OFFENSE
Sophomore Paul Bitetti had the long pole defense going against Michigan with a career-high four caused turnovers, but during a break on the clear, the UDM defenseman raced up and fired in his first collegiate goal on his first-ever shot against Michigan.

POWER PLAY PLAYERS
The Titans have taken advantages of penalties so far scoring on 5-of-9 (55.6%) extra-man opportunities, while the defense has allowed just two goals in nine chances (22.2%) with the man down.

KEEP IT UP
Junior Shayne Adams ran his streak to 34-straight games recording at least one point. His latest was a hat trick against Mercer in the season opener.

The streak is currently tied for the fifth longest in the nation by an active player in Division I.

MAINI FIGHTING TO KEEP SCHOOL RECORD
Senior Alex Maini began the 2014 campaign as the Titan career leader in points and he has added to that with an assist in the season opener and five points against Michigan for 108 total points. He now has 13 more points than former teammate Scott Harris (2009-12) and current teammate Shayne Adams' 95.

Maini is also second in school history with 67 goals, trailing Adams by 16, while Maini has 41 career assists, second in school history and just two away from Harris.

GREAT COMBINATION
Junior Shayne Adams and junior Mike Birney each currently have a double-digit streak going in goals scored.

Adams is currently tied for eighth among active players in Division I with a goal in 15-straight games, while Birney is right below him tied for 11th in the nation with a marker in 14-straight.

During this span, Adams has 35 total goals, while Birney has 32.

ROAD WOES
The Titans are 4-39 all-time in true road games, but one of those wins was at Siena in 2011.

The 13-11 victory in Loudonville, N.Y., was actually the first road win in school history after dropping 23-straight and ended the Saints' 20-game home winning streak.

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
The Titans have 53 losses in their program's history, but nearly half of those have been by four goals or less, including nine by one goal, five by two and another eight by three.

UDM has suffered 13 of its losses to conferences foes by four goals or less, with six one-goal games, four three-goal setbacks and three two-goal defeats.

WHAT A CROWD
Detroit saw 1,909 fans come out to see the red, white and blue face Michigan on Feb. 19 indoors at Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac

It marked the third time that UDM has played before 1,000+ in its history and it was also the largest crowd for a lacrosse game or any Olympic sport in Titan history.

BIRNEY GOES BOOM
Junior Mike Birney has five goals in the first two games and is coming off his sixth career hat trick with three goals against Michigan.

With the three goals, Birney has now posted multi-goal games in nine of his last 10 games and 10 of his last 12 dating back to last season.

Birney earned All-MAAC Second Team and was the Most Outstanding Player at the 2013 MAAC Championship, where he recorded eight goals and had a pair of game winners and a career-high five markers in the title game.

He scored a goal in 14 of UDM's 15 games last season, including 12 in a row to end the campaign, and had multiple goals on nine occasions with five hat tricks and that career performance of five in the MAAC Championship comeback against Siena.

THE BEAT OF HIS DRUM
Junior Scott Drummond was one of the unsung heroes in last year's run to the MAAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance and he started the season with a bang tying his career high with five points and three assists against Mercer. He then added a goal and two helpers against Michigan.

He has now recorded at least one point in 14-straight games dating back to last season.

A MASTER OF HIS PROFESSION
Senior Tom Masterson has three goals and three assists through two games and has now scored a point in 12-straight games dating back to last year.

During this spurt, he has posted 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points.

Masterson is coming off a season in which he ended the year with career highs in goals (13), assists (13) and points (26).