Gameday Central
Game Notes vs. Siena
 
DETROIT (4/11/2014) -- The weather is calling for mid 60's and you couldn't ask for a better day to honor the Titan seniors as the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team prepares for a MAAC showdown against Siena on Saturday at Titan Field.
 
It will be Senior Day for the Titans as a nine-member senior class is honored prior to the Noon start against the Saints in a rematch of the 2013 MAAC Championship.
 
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-member senior class of Tyler Corcoran, Troy Dennis, Nick Garippa, Joe MacLean, Alex Maini, Tom Masterson, Tim Robertson, Drew Schupbach and Tyler Staruch have seen a great deal of success in their four years with two trips to the MAAC Championship game, a conference title and a NCAA Championship appearance. This squad has faced the likes of nationally-ranked foes in Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio State and a near upset of Notre Dame in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Championship.
 
The group consists of great goal scorers and strong defenders hailing from Michigan, New York and Canada and that group is looking to lead the Titans to a fourth-straight MAAC Championship Tournament appearance and a chance to defend their crown in a few weeks. There are leaders among these nine individuals and one member in Staruch has seen a little more than the others as he was a freshman in 2010 and scored five goals and six points in leading Detroit to its' first-ever win in program history over Presbyterian.
 
The last time Detroit and Siena met, a berth to the NCAA Championship was on the line as the Saints built a 9-4 lead in the third only to see the Titans storm back and win the game in overtime, 11-10, for their first-ever conference title in Buffalo, N.Y., last May.
 
UDM is coming off another come-from-behind win as the red, white and blue overcame a first period 5-1 deficit to defeat Marist, 12-11. Junior Shayne Adams had six goals and seven points in that game, while senior Tom Masterson tied his career high with three goals and five points. In net, freshman Jason Weber recorded a school record 23 saves – the most by anyone in the NCAA this season.
 
The game is the home finale for Detroit who will end the season on the road at Manhattan and at Monmouth.
 
Tickets to all home games can be purchased online by visiting the Titan Ticket Office or in person on gameday. Tickets for all Detroit home games played at Titan Field are set at $5 for adults and $3 for children and seniors.
 
For more information, visit DetroitTitans.com/tix or call 313-993-1700.
 
ABOUT SIENA
Siena comes into the game at 6-3 overall and in first place in the MAAC at 3-0. All three of the Saints conference victories have come at home as they defeated Marist 9-8, Monmouth 8-3 and Canisius 10-7. Siena recently ended a four game home stand – its only four home games of the year – and will close out the regular season with five-straight road games.
 
Siena has also played two ranked teams and another that was receiving votes in both polls.
 
The offense is led by Richie Hurley, who has a MAAC-best 33 assists and 52 points to go along with 19 goals. Conor Prunty – the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year – is second on the team with 21 points on 14 goals and seven assists, while Colin Clive has 19 points with 17 goals.
 
Casey Dowd leads the MAAC and is eighth in the nation with 10.73 ground balls per game and ranks second in the league in faceoff percentage at .589.
           
THANK YOU SENIORS
The Detroit Titans will honor their nine-member senior class today prior to the start of the game against Siena.
 
This class has seen a great deal of success in its four years with two trips to the MAAC Championship game, a conference title and a NCAA Championship appearance. This squad has faced the likes of nationally ranked foes in Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio State and a near upset of Notre dame in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Championship.
 
The group consists of great goal scorers and strong defenders hailing from Michigan, New York and Canada and that group is looking to lead the Titans to a fourth-straight MAAC Championship Tournament appearance and a chance to defend its crown in a few weeks. There are leaders among these nine individuals and one member in Tyler Staruch has seen a little more than the others as he was a freshman in 2010 and scored five goals and six points in leading Detroit to its' first-ever win in program history over Presbyterian.
 
ADAMS WINS MAAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK 
 A career tying performance was turned in by junior Shayne Adams last weekend and for his effort in helping the Titans to a thrilling win over Marist, he was named the MAAC's Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
 
It is the second time in his career and the second time in three weeks that Adams has earned the offensive accolade.
 
Adams tied his career high with seven points on a season-best six goals - one shy of his high water mark - with an assist as the Titans came back to down the Red Foxes, 12-11. UDM trailed 5-1 in the first and the comeback marked the second biggest deficit overcome in school history.
 
He took just seven shots in the game and all seven were on goal with six beating the keeper.
 
Adams began the game with a goal for his 100th career marker and by the time the first period was over, he had already collected his 18th career hat trick.
 
He kept on bringing the Titans back as his fourth goal of the contest tied the game at 7-7, while his fifth gave UDM the lead, 9-8. His last marker started the complete take over as he tied the game at 10-10 with his second man-up goal of the day and that began a 3-0 run that lifted the Titans to a win in the crucial MAAC affair.
 
Adams – a two-time All-Conference selection - leads the MAAC and is 18th in the nation with 2.70 goals per game (27G) and is also fourth in the conference with 3.30 points per game.
 
ON TOP OF THE MAAC
As of the latest NCAA stats released on Monday, the Titans lead the MAAC in four categories, assists per game (6.80), man-up offense (.683), caused turnovers per game (9.00) and saves per game (16.10), while ranking second in points per game (16.30) and man-down defense (.689).  UDM also has a conference-best 28 man-up goals.
 
Sophomore Paul Bitetti tops the conference with 2.70 caused turnovers per game, while junior Joe Gifford is 10th at 1.00 per game.
 
Junior Shayne Adams leads in goals per game (2.70), is fourth in points per game (3.30) and fifth in shot percentage (.375).
 
Senior Alex Maini is second in the MAAC in shot percentage (.545) and points per game (3.50) and is fifth in assists per game (1.70). Senior Tom Masterson is sixth in assists per game (1.60) and seventh in points (2.80), while junior Scott Drummond is seventh in assists (1.30).
 
KEEP IT UP
Junior Shayne Adams ran his streak to 42-straight games recording at least one point as he tallied six goals and seven points against Marist.
 
He now has 120 points on 102 goals and 18 assists during this spurt. The streak is currently tied for the fourth longest in the nation by an active player in Division I.
 
ARE YOU SURE YOUR PLAYING WITH ONE LESS?
While scoring goals gets all the attention and the man-up offense is leading the nation, the man-down defense has not been too shabby either ranking 21st in Division I and second in the MAAC in killing off penalties at 68.9%, allowing just 14 goals in 45 attempts.
 
The man-down unit even started the game- winning goal at Wagner in UDM's 9-8 triumph.
 
ADAMS FIRST TITAN TO 100
Junior Shayne Adams - a Tewaaraton Award watch list member at the beginning of last season as well as a two-time All-MAAC selection and the conference's Rookie of the Year in 2011 - returned to action after missing the last 11 games last year with a hat trick in the season opener against Mercer and now has 18 career hat tricks, tops on the team.
 
With two six goals versus Marist, he extended his school record to 105 goals, and is second in school history with 123 points.
 
His 105 goals are tied for the 13th most among active players in the country and his 2.39 goals per game is sixth.
 
Below are the top six active leaders in goals per game.
Brody Eastwood , Stony Brook - So. -  2.82
Miles Thompson , Albany - Sr. - 2.79
Dan Lomas , High Point - So. - 2.58
Chris Baxa , Mercer - So. - 2.52
Alex Love , Hobart - Sr. - 2.49
Shayne Adams , Detroit - Jr. - 2.39
 
TURNING THEM AWAY
Thanks to freshman Jason Weber's 23 saves, Detroit now leads the nation with 16.10 saves per game.
 
MAN-UP DOMINATION
The Titans have taken advantages of penalties so far scoring on 28-of-41 (68.3%) extra-man opportunities - including 5-of-8 against Marquette, 4-of-5 against Bellarmine and Quinnipiac, and 3-of-4 at VMI - and are now 26 for their last 35.
 
The 68.3% currently ranks first in the nation.
 
A NEW SCHOOL RECORD
Freshman Jason Weber may not have won a MAAC award this past week, but he helped the Titans to an important win as he posted a school record 23 saves against Marist, the most by any one in the NCAA this season. He broke Vince Diana's school mark of 20 at Air Force in 2009, UDM's inaugural season.
 
The 23 saves were also the most by a MAAC goalie since Matt Lindemann had 24 at Virginia last year, and is tied for the second most by a player in the conference since 2009.
 
MAINI FIGHTING TO KEEP SCHOOL RECORD
Senior Alex Maini is the Titan career leader in points and he added to that with four points against Marist to come into the game with 137 total points. He currently holds the school record by 14 points over current teammate Shayne Adams' 123. 
 
Maini is also second in school history with 82 goals, trailing Adams by 23, while Maini owns the school assist record as his third helper at RMU gave him 44 at that point to pass former teammate Scott Harris (2009-12) on his way to his current mark of 55.
 
He is currently sixth in the nation in shot percentage (.545), 25th in assists per game (1.70) and 33rd in points per game (3.50).
 
BITETTI'S TAKING IT AWAY
Sophomore defenseman Paul Bitetti leads the team with 21 caused turnovers and is averaging 2.33 per game, sixth in the NCAA.
 
Bitetti has at least four caused turnovers in three games this year with a career-high five against Bellarmine.
 
SPREADING THE BALL AROUND
Detroit has six players in double figures in points so far and 10 players have posted at least one goal through 10 games.
 
MY "MAIN" MAN
Can it be a fourth-straight year of increased production for senior Alex Maini? A team captain this year, Maini has seen his numbers rise in every collegiate season and he just set a career high with 17 assists this year. He now has 35 points, just five away from his career high water mark set last season.
 
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 it looks like Detroit has done just that.
 
Detroit tops the country in saves per game (16.10) and is 12th with 9.00 caused turnovers per game.
 
UDM totaled 17 caused turnovers against Bellarmine, tied for the fourth most in school history and the most since posting 20 against VMI last season.
 
THE WALL OF WEBER
Freshman Jason Weber has taken over the goalie duties at Detroit and he has played great in between the pipes.
 
In seven games - all as a starter - Weber has three wins with 115 saves, a 9.69 goals against average and a .628 save percentage, while collecting 22 ground balls.
 
He has now posted at least 14 saves in six of his seven starts and came up with a school record 23 against Marist his last time out.
 
Weber was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on Mar. 24 after stopping 17 shots at Canisius.
 
He made his first collegiate start at VMI on March 1 and finished with 16 saves - six in the fourth period - and allowing just six goals, including none in the final 22 minutes of action, in an 8-6 road triumph.
 
In just his third start, he tallied 18 saves in another road victory at Wagner – tying for the third most in program history and just two away from the school record – including a key save with 30 seconds left that help set up Detroit's game winning shot. Weber started that week by making 15 stops against RV/RV Bellarmine and would end up being named the MAAC Rookie of the Week on March 10.
 
THE EXTRA PASS
Detroit ended with 10 assists against Marist, tying a school record for the third time.
 
UDM also had 10 against Wagner in 2010 and at Quinnipiac in 2012, both wins
 
COMEBACK TITANS
The Titans trailed 5-1 to Marist in the first period but stormed back to win the game, 12-11.
 
The four-goal comeback marked the second biggest margin overcome by the Titans behind the 9-4 score against Siena in last year's MAAC Championship.
 
BIRNEY GOES BOOM
Junior Mike Birney has 14 goals on the season and posted his seventh career hat trick with four goals against Marquette. He also added an assist to tie his career high with five points.
 
Birney has now posted multi-goal outbursts in 11 of his last 18 games 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 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.
 
MORE BIRNEY BITES
Junior Mike Birney had just 12 goals and 19 points in his first 19 collegiate games, but in his last 17, the All-MAAC midfielder has recorded 32 goals and 39 points.
 
A MASTER OF HIS PROFESSION
Senior Tom Masterson just posted his second career hat trick as the Canadian tied his career with three goals and five points against Marist. He also had that same stat line versus the Red Foxes as a freshman in 2011.
 
He now has 12 goals and a career-high 16 assists and 28 points and has now scored a point in 20-straight games.
 
During this spurt, he has posted 25 goals and 27 assists for 52 points.
 
Masterson is coming off a season in which he ended the year with career highs in goals (13), assists (13) and points (26).
 
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 and had three goals and four points against Quinnipiac.
 
He saw his streak of 14-straight games with at least one point come to an end at Robert Morris, but has one point in 21 of his last 22 games dating back to last season.
 
He is currently fourth on the team in points (25), tied for fourth in goals (12), and is third with 13 total assists.
 
BO KNOWS OFFENSE
Junior Brandon Beauregard ended his sophomore season in fine fashion as he tallied his first career hat trick at No. 2 Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Championship. On the season, he has scored at least one point in nine of 10 games has found the back of the net in five of those contests.
 
He is also coming off a career-high four-point outing with two goals and two assists against Marist.
 
In his career, Beauregard has 18 goals and 22 assists for 40 points.
 
STANDING TALL
The Titans have been outshot, 413-346, on the year, but did come up with a couple of big wins while being outgunned.
 
Detroit was outshot, 50-27, against Marist its last time out, but ended up winning 12-11. The 23 shot margin was the biggest in school history that yielded a win.
 
It was also only the fifth time in school history that UDM won a game despite being outshot.
 
At Wagner earlier in the year, Detroit was outshot, 45-29, but came back to post the game winner with one second left on the clock.
 
In the season opener against Mercer, UDM was outshoot, 38-29, yet Detroit was able to withstand that for a win.
 
PLAYING AT HOME
UDM is 12-11 at home on Titan Field in its history as well as 3-3 in home games played indoors at Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac.