DETROIT (3/16/2017) -- The Titans have played eight non-conference games all to get ready for league play as the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team will start MAAC action by hosting Manhattan on Saturday.
It will be military appreciation day as all active and retired members of the military will receive a free ticket to the contest.
The game was originally scheduled for Noon, but will now be played at 11 a.m. at Titan Field, and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Live stats will also be provided.
Detroit Mercy had won two of three, but has now dropped two in a row on the road to a pair of teams receiving votes in the national polls in Marquette (8-6) and Air Fore (13-8).
This is the third time that the Titans will open the conference season against the Jaspers as Manhattan claimed an 11-8 win in 2010 and Detroit Mercy posted a 9-3 victory last season with both games on the road.
The game is the start of seven-straight Saturday's of lacrosse for Detroit Mercy, including six in a row against conference foes.
Tickets to the game are just $5 and can be purchased online by
clicking here or at the field.
AGAINST THE MAAC
Detroit Mercy is 21-23 in regular season league play since joining the MAAC in 2010. The Titans began their MAAC history with a 2-6 mark in 2010 and were 4-2 in 2011 and 2015.
Last year, Detroit Mercy was 2-4, including a one-goal loss to Siena and a four-goal differential at Canisius.
The Titans won the 2013 MAAC Championship as a No. 4 seed upsetting top-seeded Marist in the semifinals and No. 3 Siena in the title game.
MAAC OPENERS
Detroit Mercy is 4-3 all-time in MAAC openers and 5-2 all-time in home conference openers.
ABOUT MANHATTAN
Manhattan has won a couple of thrilling games this season in overtime and comes into the contest at 2-5 overall.
The Jaspers defeated Wagner 14-13 in triple overtime and then beat Hartford on the road, 14-13, in double overtime.
Parker Giarratana had both game-winning goals as he leads the team in points (24) and goals (18), and is among the top six in the MAAC.
Matt Garvey has 12 points on nine goals and three assists and CJ Scharf has 13 points and a team-high 10 assists.
Joseph Bressingham is 79-of-142 (55.6%) in faceoffs with 42 ground balls and Luke Hanson leads the squad with five caused turnovers.
Michael Zingaro is the team's goalie with 99 saves and a .493 save percentage.
ALL-TIME VS. MANHATTAN
The Titans have won two in a row and three of the last four against Manhattan as the teams have split eight career meetings.
All four of the Titan wins have come by exactly six goals, while the four losses have seen three setbacks by three or less.
Detroit Mercy is 3-0 all-time at home in the series.
WE LIKE HOME LIFE
Detroit Mercy is 23-19 all-time while playing at home, including 17-15 at Titan Field and 6-4 in its indoor facility at Ultimate Soccer Arenas.
JESUIT PRIDE
Detroit Mercy is one of just eight Jesuit schools playing Division I lacrosse.
The others are MAAC-rival Canisius, Fairfield, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Loyola (Md.), Marquette and St. Joseph's.
The Titans have actually played four of the other seven Jesuit institutions in Canisius (5-3), Marquette (0-5), Georgetown (0-1) and Saint Joseph's (0-1).
RECORD WATCH
Senior goalie
Jason Weber now has 600 career saves and is just nine away from the school record of 609 held by A.J. Levell '13.
He recorded a school-record 202 as a sophomore and also owns the second place mark with 179 as a freshman.
He is also fifth in school history with 136 ground balls.
THE GREAT WALL OF WEBER
Senior
Jason Weber has now recorded double-digit saves in 38 of his 45 career games, including 17 with 15+, 11 with 17 or more and two with 20 or more.
In 45 career games – 44 starts – he has posted 600 saves, a .572 save percentage - second in school history - and a school record 10.17 goals against average.
In the season opener, he made 11 saves at RV/#17 Ohio State and posted a season-best 16 at Mercer. He had 12 on the road at RV/RV Marquette and 11 at RV/RV Air Force.
He is a two-time All-MAAC honoree who was the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman.
As a sophomore, he topped the country for the second-straight year with 14.43 saves per game last season, while finishing third in the nation - and second in the MAAC - with a .589 save percentage, while as a rookie, he led the nation with a pair of school records finishing with 16.27 saves per game and a .642 save percentage.
HE LEADS EVERYONE
Senior
Jason Weber leads all current NCAA Division I goalies with 600 saves and 13.33 saves per game.
The next highest on that list in total saves is Christian Carson-Banister of Boston University (523), while Ben Gieichenhaus of Jacksonville is second in saves per game with 12.78.
VANTASTIC
Sophomore transfer
Matthew Vangalen has had a great start to his Titan career and is currently on pace to set a school record for points in a single season.
He currently has 30 points through eight games and at his current pace of 3.85 points per game, he would total roughly 55 points on the year, breaking the school mark of 49 (42g, 7a) held by Shayne Adams in 2014.
In his first ever game wearing the red, white and blue, Vangalen posted two goals and three assists at RV/#17 Ohio State, the most ever by a Titan in their debut and the most ever by a Titan in a season opener.
At Robert Morris, he registered four assists to tie a school record that was held by current Director of Operations
Alex Maini '15 (at VMI, Mar. 1, 2014) and Joel Matthews (at Quinnipiac, Mar 10, 2012).
Against Bellarmine at the Midwest Classic, he tallied his second hat trick on the year with three goals and two assists against the Knights.
LEADING THE OFFENSE
Sophomore
Matthew Vangalen currently leads the team with 30 points on 14 goals and 16 assists.
His 30 points currently are the most among all MAAC performers, while his 16 assists are tied for the top spot with Marist's J.J. Recor.
In the nation, he ranks 22nd with 2.0 assists per game - third in the MAAC - and 43rd with 3.75 points per game - fifth in the league.
He is already sixth in school history with 16 assists on the season and is just one away from moving into fourth place in that category.
The leader in single-season assists is Alex Maini, who recorded 26 in 2014.
DON'T MESS WITH TEX
Junior
Will Kane - who hails from Dallas, Texas - had a good weekend at the Midwest Classic from March 3-5 totaling four caused turnovers and four ground balls.
Kane tied his career high with three ground balls against Bellarmine and then posted a career-best three caused turnovers at Marquette.
He currently leads the team with eight caused turnovers - a new career high and the second-most in the MAAC - and leads all defenseman with 14 GB's.
MAKE IT CLEAR
The Titans lead the MAAC in clearing percentage as they are at 87.5 percent on the season.
KEEP SHOOTING
Detroit Mercy tallied 46 shots against Jacksonville and also picked up 35 ground balls at Robert Morris.
The 46 shots were the most since recording 58 against Manhattan in 2015, while the 35 ground balls are the most since tallying 35 at Quinnipiac in 2015.
ON THE RISE
Detroit Mercy has netted double-digit goals three times this season after not accomplishing that at all last year.
Detroit Mercy also tallied a season-high 13 goals last week in the win over Bellarmine, the most goals since posting 14 at Siena in 2015.
TAKING ADVANTAGE
Detroit Mercy currently leads the MAAC with 13 man-up goals on the year.
The Titans have a great history with the extra-man attack as they set a NCAA record with a .708 mark in 2014, converting on 34-of-48 opportunities.
ALREADY IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Freshman
Seth Mendell recorded his first collegiate hat trick in a big way as he exploded for six goals in the win over Bellarmine on March 3.
The six goals are tied for the second-most in school history and the most since Shayne Adams had six at Marist in 2014.
GJOKAJ TIES HIS MARK
Senior
Ben Gjokaj tied his career high with 15 faceoff wins and picked up a career-best 10 ground balls at RV/#17 Ohio State in the season opener.
The 10 GB's are tied for the second-most in school history and are the most since Jordan Houtby had 10 against Michigan in 2012, while his 15 faceoff wins were just one behind the school record of 16 recorded twice by Brandon Davenport vs. Robert Morris in 2010 and 2011.
He is now 51-of-113 (45.1%) on the season with 22 ground balls.
He tied his mark that he set going 15-of-22 on faceoffs against Quinnipiac last year.
Last season, he saw action in 11 games as the Titans' main faceoff specialist and led the league and was 24th in the nation in faceoff winning percentage with a career-high and school record 56.6 percent (74-of-133), which included an astounding 68-of-108 (62.9%) mark in MAAC play.
BIRNEY BOMBS
Junior
Sean Birney has already surpassed his career best with 11 goals this season.
He scored seven goals as both a freshman and sophomore and is now fourth on the team with 12 points and second with 11 goals.
He also leads the MAAC and is tied for first in the nation with five man-up goals.
WEARING THE "C"
The legendary status of wearing the capital C will be bestowed upon two members of the Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team as juniors
Charlie Hayes and
Pat Masterson have received the honor for the upcoming season.
Both have been key members of the Titan defense since they arrived on campus.
"This is a great honor for two individuals that have demonstrated to their teammates and the coaching staff their leadership role in this program," said head coach Chris Kolon '09.
DEFENSIVE EDGE
Freshman
Alex Akins led the defense at Robert Morris with a pair of caused turnovers, while juniors
Charlie Hayes and
Pat Masterson tallied a caused turnover and five ground balls, a new career best for Hayes.
Hayes is currently second on the team with six caused turnovers, while Akins has five.
BO JUST ONE AWAY
Senior
Kyle Beauregard has had a great start to his final collegiate campaign as he is tied for second on the team with 13 points and is third with 10 goals.
The 13 points and 10 goals are both new career highs.
1, 2, 3
Senior
Kyle Beauregard recorded his third career hat trick with three goals in a winning effort against Jacksonville on Feb. 26.
His other two came with three at Monmouth last year and against Robert Morris in 2015 - where he had the game winner in overtime.
LOOKING FOR MORE
Junior
Alec Gilhooly is already approaching his career high of 18 points last year as he has nine goals and four assists on the year.
Gilhooly has notched two goals in a game three times this season firing in a pair at RV/#17 Ohio State, against Mercer and against Jacksonville.
