Season Preview Video

DETROIT (2/11/2016) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team will kick off the season against a very familiar opponent as the Titans travel to No. 11/12 Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 13.

Game time is set for Noon indoors at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

This is the seventh career meeting between the two schools and the fourth time that Detroit will battle the Buckeyes in its season opener. 

UDM is 1-5 all-time against OSU, but the win was a dramatic 9-8 victory at home last year. The first five games were all on the road before last year's triumph. 

The Titans are also looking for their first win over a nationally-ranked program as they are 0-8 against top-20 teams. 
 
Season Preview 
The University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team will begin the 2016 season with a bevy of new players, but the talent is still there for the Titans to make another run at a conference championship.
 
Detroit will have to replace some key pieces on offense due to graduation, but with some veterans returning on the offense along with a couple of All-MAAC honorees on the defensive side of the ball, there is no doubt that the Titans will work hard to replace those seniors.
 
"We are just going to get better every day and try to execute," said Chris Kolon '09 (MBA). "We lost some people, but that just creates opportunities for people to step up and we will see what happens."
 
Offense
All told, Detroit will have to replace 91 goals and 134 points from last year's offense and three four-year players on defense that helped the squad post the first winning record in school history at 8-6 and make the MAAC Championship for the fifth-straight year.

"We graduated a lot of goals last year, but we are excited for a few guys to step into a more important role and fill those gaps left by graduation," said assistant coach and offensive coordinator Graham Adams.
 
Sophomore Mark Anstead – the reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year – is back to lead the offense at attack. He started all 14 games last year and was second on the team with 38 points, tied for second with 17 assists and third scoring 21 goals.
 
"He needs to get better and we all need to get better," said Kolon. "He is a good kid and we are going to look for him to quarterback the offense, and we expect him to be better than last year."
 
After Anstead, Detroit will have a number of players vying for time at attack, including junior Kyle Beauregard, sophomores Alec Gilhooly, Adam Susalla and Brady Gagner and no less than five incoming freshmen.
 
Beauregard tallied nine goals and two assists, including a hat trick and winning goal in overtime against Robert Morris, while Gilhooly and Susalla each recorded a goal and an assist in limited time.
 
At midfield, Detroit will have some familiar faces back in seniors Andy Hebden and Mike Spuller along with sophomore Sean Birney. Hebden has seen action in 39 games and has 13 goals and 20 points. Spuller can play on both sides of the ball and notched two goals last year, while Birney posted 12 points on seven goals and five assists, including two goals and an assist in his collegiate debut in the victory over Ohio State.
 
"I have seen a motivated group of players that have come to practice with a great attitude every single day," said Adams. "We are sharing the ball a little more than last year and we are excited for what is to come."
 
A couple of guys who have been in the Titan system will also be back in junior Terry Yarbrough II and sophomore Lucas Ducharme, and this is another unit where the Titans will look to get a lot out of newcomers.
 
"They have all been working hard and we are going to continue to work on our execution and get better every day," said Kolon.
 
Special Teams
Juniors Greg Marzec and Ben Gjokaj are back as the main face-off specialist for Detroit. Marzec played in 12 games and tallied 44 victories, including some great games going 8-of-14 with two ground balls at Bellarmine, 8-of-12 with two ground balls and a goal against Monmouth and recording eight wins in the MAAC Championship semifinals versus Quinnipiac.

 
The man-down unit should be pretty strong, while the man-up offense will only improve throughout the year and will have a number of contributors.
 
"We are just going to be the best we can be. We need to worry about our execution and worry about who we are and be the best players we can be and we will see what happens," stated Kolon.
 
Defense
The defense is a little more settled with senior defensemen Paul Bitetti and Jordan Yono back to help lead the unit.
 
"It is just the leadership they bring back there," said assistant coach and defensive coordinator Jeff Turner. "They both have a lot of game experience and they have been around the block a few times. With the younger crew we have in other areas, their ability to bring leadership and to teach guys game situations has been really valuable to us and that is what we count on."
 

Bitetti has been the team's No. 1 defenseman the last two seasons and fought through injuries in 2015 to finish second on the team with 14 caused turnovers. He has 37 caused turnovers and 42 ground balls in his career and has also earned All-MAAC First Team the last two seasons along with preseason accolades this year.
 
Yono started 12 of his 14 games last season and tallied a career-high eight caused turnovers – good for fourth on the team - and collected 16 ground balls. He has 13 caused turnovers and 40 ground balls in 14 career games.
 
Sophomores Bryan Matney, Will Kane and Seth Horwat have also been with the program for a few years and have seen time in the field. Matney played in 11 games last season and Kane in eight and both were part of the man-down team.
 
The Titans also have a pair of long stick midfielders back in junior JD Hess and sophomore Pat Masterson. Masterson earned a spot on the MAAC All-Rookie team after recording 30 ground balls and nine caused turnovers in his first year on the field and Hess has 32 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers in his career.
 
At close defensive midfield, sophomore Charlie Hayes returns after making a name for himself as one of the best short stick middies in the MAAC. Senior Chris Perry and junior Marcus Butters are also back with plenty of experience, and a few newcomers will lend depth to the position
 
"We have a couple of returners at LSM and defensive midfield, but we have had great competition at all levels of the defense and a lot of guys are pushing for spots," added Turner.
 
Goal
There is no question that Detroit will have the strongest goalie depth chart in the league with junior Jason Weber and senior Connor Flynn.

 
Weber led the country for the second-straight year with 14.43 saves per game and was also third in the nation - and second in the MAAC - with a .589 save percentage. The two-time All-MAAC performer has continued to make a name for himself as he was tabbed a Preseason Honorable Mention All-American by Inside Lacrosse for the second-straight year.
 
"Jason is a great kid. He has really stabilized himself in goal and we are looking for him to be as great as he can be," added Kolon.
 
He compiled double-digit saves in 12 of his 14 starts, including 15 or more seven times, with a school-record 28 saves against Mercer, which tied a MAAC record. His 10.26 goals against average was third in the MAAC as he set a school record with 202 saves.
 
"He is a tremendous talent and has bailed us out of a lot of situations where the defense breaks down," said Turner. "He clears the ball very well and he does a lot of things well, and as he continues to grow and learn the defense, he has become more of a vocal leader."
 
Flynn was voted a team captain, which indicates how much respect he has with the coaching staff and players. He saw action in three games last year making nine saves and that was after starting two games and posting 28 saves in 2014, which included a win in his collegiate debut.
 
Titan Tested
One thing that the Titans will have in their favor is a challenging non-conference schedule that will prepare them for the MAAC. Air Force, Notre Dame, Marquette, Michigan and Ohio State are all on the docket as the slate features seven opponents that posted a combined 56-46 record (.543) a season ago with a pair of NCAA Tournament teams, including Final Four member Notre Dame.