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With one of the largest crowds in the history of Titan Field on hand, junior Pat O'Shea (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills East) found the back of the net for Detroit's first goal as the Titans fell to Wheeling Jesuit, 14-7, on Saturday afternoon in the first ever home contest for the men's lacrosse program.

“It felt great to get the first goal, but I would have loved to trade it in for a win,” said O'Shea.

All 703 spectators were on the feet as the game began with a defensive battle at first. Finally, midway through the first period, O'Shea was able to take a pass from sophomore Matt Gregson (Flint, MI/Powers Catholic) and put it between the pipes to give UDM a 1-0 lead.

“It was great to really get all these fans out here for our first game,” said head coach Matt Holtz. “The support and atmosphere was great.”

The Cardinals would score the next five, but Detroit cut the deficit to three, 5-2, as senior Kevin Demorest (Birmingham, MI/Seaholm) got inside for the first of his two markers on the day. Another 5-0 WJU run followed putting the red, white and blue down by eight at the half, 10-2.

Detroit struck first coming out of the half as the Titans took advantage of a Cardinal penalty with senior Michael Schumacher (Grand Rapids, MI / Forest Hills Central) taking a pass from O'Shea for the man-up score.

Down by 13-3 late in the third stanza, the Titans showed their true heart and dedication ending the game by scoring four straight goals. With just two minutes left in the third, Demorest tallied his second with just two minutes left.

UDM began the fourth the same way it began the first three periods by getting on the board first, this time with freshman Vince Wigdahl (Apple Valley, MN / Apple Valley) getting the unassisted score with 14:23 to go. The Titans leading scorer, Gregson would then get Detroit closer with a goal at the 11:51 mark, pulling the red, white and blue within seven, 13-6.

O'Shea's second goal of the game would follow at 7:42, but that was as close as Detroit would get as the Cardinals closed out the day with a score and the win.

Junior Vince Diana (Massillon, OH Jackson) played all 60 minutes in goal for Detroit, coming away with 11 saves. Gregson also collected six ground balls on the day, while junior Chris Butts (Riverhead, NY / Riverhead) had five.

Prior to the game, the Titans honored their three seniors, Demorest, Schumacher and Riley Turchetti (Grand Rapids, MI / Forest Hills Central), who gave everything they had in their only season with Detroit.

“The seniors have been a great asset all year for us,” said Holtz. We are very young and they did a great job all year long helping our guys get through this tough first year with the competition we have played.”

Detroit will now fly to Colorado for its last two games of the season, starting with a contest against the Denver Pioneers on Friday and against the Air Force Academy next Sunday.