Gameday Central
Game Notes vs. Michigan
 
DETROIT (2/11/2015) -- For the second-straight week, the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team will play a Big Ten school as the Titans make the short trek to Ann Arbor to battle the Wolverines on Valentine's Day, Saturday, Feb. 14.
 
Game time is set for 7:00 p.m., and will be played indoors at Oosterbaan Field House. There will be no live video, but there will be live stats.
 
Fans can follow every Detroit 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 game tickets. The Gameday Central page also carries all the information on each opponent from who is leading the all-time series to who won the last game.
 
Detroit earned a win in the season opener for the second-straight year as the Titans held off Ohio State, 9-8, in front of 1,363 fans at Ultimate Soccer Arenas. Eight Titans netted goals on the day with freshman Sean Birney leading the way with three points and two goals. The defense was led by sophomore Jason Weber, who posted 14 saves, while senior Chris Shevins and junior Paul Bittetti combined for five caused turnovers.
 
The defense also forced 18 turnovers with 12 caused and the Titans were 19-of-21 (90.5%) on clears.
 
Michigan comes into the game at 1-0 after a 16-9 win over Bellarmine at home. The Knights actually led the Wolverines, 7-5, at the break, but U-M exploded for 11 goals in the second half.
 
After the game, the Titans will return home to face Robert Morris on Saturday, Feb. 21. The game is slated for a 1:00 p.m., start at Ultimate Soccer Arenas. Fans, to purchase tickets or for more information, contact the Titans' Ticket Office at (313) 993-1700. The Titans' Ticket Office is located in Calihan Hall and is open Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 
THE OPENING FACEOFF
After putting themselves in the lacrosse headlines for their season-opening win over Ohio State, the Titans will look to take down their in-state rival as the only two Division I programs in the state of Michigan square off on Valentine's Day.
 
AGAINST THE BIG TEN
This is the first year that the Big Ten will sponsor men's lacrosse with six teams in the league in Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers.
 
Detroit is 2-7 all-time against teams in the league with a 1-5 mark against Ohio State, 1-1 versus Michigan and 0-1 against Maryland.
 
A LOOK BACK
Seven Titans scored goals and a fourth quarter run was just enough as Detroit defeated Ohio State, 9-8, last Saturday in front of 1,363 fans at Ultimate Soccer Arenas.
 
Freshman Sean Birney led the balanced offensive attack with three points and two goals. Seniors Shayne Adams and Mike Birney along with sophomore Brad Harris, redshirt freshman Alec Gilhooly and rookie Mark Anstead all had a goal and an assist.
 
Sophomore Jason Weber – the reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year – finished with 14 saves and six ground balls and senior Chris Shevins tallied a career-high three caused turnovers and two ground balls.
 
The game was tied at 6-6 with under seven minutes left when UDM ran off three-straight goals to go out in front, 9-6, with 4:26 left.
 
Ohio State was able to tally two goals in the next two minutes to pull within one, but UDM turned away four shot attempts by the Buckeyes in the last 2:05 to seal the win.
 
ABOUT MICHIGAN
The Wolverines are in their fourth year of Division I lacrosse and after back-to-back 1-13 seasons in 2012 and 2013, the maize and blue finished 5-11 last season. U-M was selected to finish sixth in the inaugural Big Ten Preseason poll.
 
Michigan started the year with a big win as the Wolverines scored 11 goals in the second half to cruise past Bellarmine, 16-9, at home.
 
Nine players tallied goals with four apiece from Mikie Schlosser and David McCormack.
 
Ian King - who had three assists in the opener - was named to the Big Ten Preseason Watch List as was Schlosser and goalie Gerald Logan.
 
King had 33 points with a team-high 32 goals last season, while Mikie Schlosser tallied 11 goals last year and posted five points against Bellarmine. Kyle Jackson is back after notching 25 goals and five assists and McCormack recorded 23 points with 13 goals and 10 assists in 2014.
 
Brad Lott helped U-M with the faceoff battle going 16-of-24 (.667) and that is after a 161-of-305 (.526) with 87 ground balls last year.
 
Logan missed last season and came back to tally 12 saves in the opener.
 
BORN AND RAISED IN MICHIGAN
While the Titans do recruit nationally - witnessed by 11 states and two countries on their 46-man roster - there is no arguing that Detroit loves to keep players in their home state as 24 of UDM's 46 players (52.1%) hail from the Great Lakes State.
 
Canada with eight and New York with five follows next. Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia all have one apiece playing for the Titans.
 
ROAD OPENERS
The Titans are 0-6 all-time in road openers, but it should be noted that three of the setbacks were at Ohio State (2009, 2010, 2013) and another two against a nationally-ranked Delaware squad (2011, 2012). The other loss was at Robert Morris last season.
 
ROAD WOES
The Titans are 8-42 all-time in true road games, but did have four wins away from the Motor City last season.
 
Also, one of those was at Siena in 2011. The 13-11 victory in Loudonville, N.Y., was the first road win in school history after dropping 23-straight and ended the Saints' 20-game home winning streak.
 
ANOTHER GREAT CROWD
Detroit played its season opener in front of 1,363 fans at Ultimate Soccer Arenas marking the fourth time in school history that UDM has topped over 1,000 fans in a home game.
 
Last season, 1,909 fans came out to see the red, white and blue face Michigan at Ultimate Soccer Arenas. It is believed to be the largest crowd for any Olympic sport in Titan history.
 
The other two games with 1,000 or more was on Feb. 12, 2012, when 1,800 fans came to see the Titans take on Michigan, while on Feb. 6, 2010, 1,565 fans were in the house to watch Detroit battle Bellarmine.
 
BRING ON THE YOUNGSTERS
You always feel more comfortable with experience, but it was the younger Titans who shined in the win over Ohio State.
 
Out of the eight goal scorers, three were true freshmen, led by Sean Birney who tallied two goals and an assist. Mark Anstead and Alec Gilhooly also recorded a goal and an assist.
 
Sophomore Brad Harris also had a goal and an assist and, of course, there was sophomore goalie Jason Weber who made 14 saves.
 
Déjà vu, HARRIS GETS FIRST GOAL AGAINST OSU
That is right as a Titan named Harris scored his first collegiate goal against Ohio State as sophomore Brad Harris tallied the marker in the season opener.
 
Those might remember that his older brother Scott (2009-12) netted his first goal and the first goal in Titan history against Ohio State in 2009.
 
SHEVINS TAKING IT AWAY
Senior Chris Shevins is part of a strong senior backline and the upperclassman played a great game in registering a career-high three caused turnovers with a pair of ground balls at Ohio State.
 
He has now played in 42 career games and has 16 caused turnovers and 41 GB's.
 
LOOKING FOR THE RECORD
Senior Shayne Adams has 141 career points and is in second place in Titan history, just five away from former teammate and now undergraduate assistant coach Alex Maini (2011-14).
 
He is coming off a season in which he tallied a MAAC-best 42 goals to go along with 49 points – both school records.
 
He already owns the Detroit record with 121 career markers.
 
ADAMS POSSESS NATION'S LONGEST SCORING POINT STREAK
Senior Shayne Adams ran his streak to 47-straight games recording at least one point as he found the back of the net and recorded an assist in the season-opening victory over Ohio State.
 
It is currently the longest streak in the nation by four games over North Carolina's  Jimmy Bitter.
 
He has 138 points on 118 goals and 20 assists during this spurt.
 
In his career, Adams has scored a point in 48 of 49 games - only in his second career game at Ohio State did he not register a point - as well as scoring a goal in 46 contests.
 
BIRNEY, WEBER EARN MAAC WEEKLY ACCOLADES
Sophomore Jason Weber and freshman Sean Birney were two big keys to the Titans' win over Ohio State and on Monday, the MAAC recognized Weber as the Defensive Player of the Week, while freshman Sean Birney earned the conference's Rookie of the Week.
 
The 2014 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year was on his game last Saturday recording 14 saves and a career-best six ground balls in Detroit's first-ever victory over OSU. It was his 12th career game in net and he has now posted double-digit saves in all 12 games.
 
Weber was twice tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week as a freshman and was also named the Rookie of the Week once.
 
Birney led Detroit with three points and two goals, the only multi-goal scorer for the red, white and blue in the contest. In his collegiate debut, he assisted on senior Shayne Adams' tally in the first period and fired in goals in the third and fourth – on his only two shots of the game - to help propel UDM to victory.
 
ADAMS FIRST TITAN TO 100 & BEYOND
Senior Shayne Adams - a Tewaaraton Award watch list member in 2013 as well as a three-time All-MAAC selection - has 121 career goals, the only Titan in school history to reach 100 career markers.
 
He is currently third among active players in the nation in total goals and goals per game and eighth in total points.
 
Below are the top three active leaders  in total goals in 2015
Wesley Berg, Denver - Jr. - 130
Lyle Thompson, Albany - Jr. - 123
Shayne Adams, Detroit - Sr. - 121
 
Below are the top three active leaders in goals per game in 2015
Dan Lomas, High Point - Jr. - 2.69
Brody Eastwood, Stony Brook - Jr. - 2.67
Shayne Adams , Detroit - Sr. - 2.47
 
Below are the top eight active leaders in total points in 2015
Joey Sankey, North Carolina - Sr. - 163
John Glesener, Army - Sr. - 158
Ryan Walsh, Colgate - Sr. - 154
Dan Taylor, Lehigh - Sr. - 148
Mike Rooney, Stony Brook - Sr.  - 146
Kevin Rice, Syracuse - Sr.  - 144
Wells Stanwick, Johns Hopkins - Sr. - 142
Shayne Adams, Detroit - Sr. - 141
 
THE GREAT WALL OF WEBER
Sophomore Jason Weber is back inbetween the pipes for Detroit, giving the Titans one of the top goalies in the nation and he displayed that talent in the season opener.
 
Against Ohio State, he posted 14 saves and picked up a career-best six ground balls. It was his 12th career game in net and in all 12, he has recorded double-digit saves.
 
Weber won a number of awards last season in the MAAC's Rookie and Defensive Player of the Year as he posted 16.27 saves per game and a .642 save percentage, NCAA bests in both stats.
 
He made 179 total saves – tying a UDM record – and was 16th in the country and first in the MAAC with a 9.07 goals against average.
 
He ended up registering double-digit saves in all 11 games he saw action in with at least 15 in eight games and a school record 23 in a win over Marist in the regular season, which was the second most stops on the year in Division I.
 
BIRNEY GOES BOOM
Senior Mike Birney is back to lead one of the most experienced midfields in the MAAC.
 
In the season opener, he led Detroit with six shots and scored a goal and handed out an assist.
 
Birney – the 2013 Most Outstanding Player at the MAAC Championship – was tabbed Second Team All-MAAC for the second-straight year in 2014 and was a preseason All-Conference selection this year.
 
He posted 18 goals and 25 points as a junior, tied for second and fifth, respectively, on the squad in 2014.
 
He now has 52 career goals for fifth in school history, while his 73 points rank seventh. He also has seven career hat trick
 
Birney - who has a shot clocked as high as 114 MPH in the summer of 2013 - earned 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.
 
BO KNOWS OFFENSE
Senior Brandon Beauregard started all 14 games at midfield last season and finished sixth on the team with a career-best 23 points.
 
He started off the season strong scoring a goal against Ohio State and that was after recording 12 assists for fourth on the squad and a career-high 11 goals.
 
Beauregard currently has 51 points on 23 goals and 28 assists in his career with one hat trick, coming at No. 2 Notre Dame in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
 
BITETTI'S BACK
Junior Paul Bitetti was selected preseason All-Conference by the MAAC and Inside Lacrosse and he showed why tallying two caused turnovers against Ohio State.
 
Bitetti saw a lot of action as a freshman on the 2013 MAAC Championship team and he stepped up his play last year, taking over the top long pole defensive spot and earning First Team All-MAAC. 
 
He recorded a career and team-high 24 caused turnovers and ended the year 12th in Division I and leading the MAAC with 1.85 caused turnovers per game. He also placed fifth on the Titans with a career-best 22 ground balls.
 
THE BEAT OF HIS DRUM
Senior Scott Drummond tallied a goal - which proved to be the game winner - in the season opener against Ohio State, helping the Titans to their first-ever win over the Buckeyes.
 
The midfielder is coming off his best season culminating in being named Second Team All-MAAC in 2014 as he set career highs with 17 goals, 15 assists and 32 points, good for third on the squad in assists, fourth in points and tied for fourth in goals. He was also seventh in the MAAC in total assists and assists per game (1.07).
 
He is currently fifth in school history with 79 points and seventh with 43 goals. He also has totaled three hat tricks in his career.
 
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
The Titan defense should be one of the strongest in the MAAC as three starters and a key reserve are all back in seniors Joe Gifford and Chris Shevins and juniors Paul Bitetti and Jordan Yono.
 
The foursome have combined to play in 134 career games with 54 starts, posting 111 ground balls and 66 caused turnovers.
 
In the season opener, that foursome recorded six caused turnovers and six ground balls as the Titans posted 12 caused turnovers and forced OSU into 18 total miscues.