DETROIT (2/26/2016) -- It is not every day that you get a chance to play the top-ranked team in the country, but that is exactly the opportunity the Titans have as the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team visits No. 1/2 Notre Dame on Saturday, Feb. 27. 

The game is set for 2 p.m. indoors at the Loftus Sports Center. The game will be web streamed and will also have live stats. 

Notre Dame is 2-0 on the year with wins over Georgetown and Bellarmine, while the Titans are 0-2 falling at No. 11/12 Ohio State and at Mercer. Detroit's last game against Michigan this past Wednesday was canceled due to weather.

This is the second career meeting between Detroit and Notre Dame as they met in the First Round of the 2013 NCAA Championship. The red, white and blue led the second-seeded Fighting Irish, 7-3, in the third before it came back with six-straight goals to win the game. 

Following the contest, Detroit will stay on the road as it takes part in the Midwest Classic facing Bellarmine on March 4 and Marquette on March 6 with both games hosted by Ohio State.

AGAINST THE ACC
This is just the fourth career meeting between Detroit and a current member of the ACC. 

The Titans are 0-3 all-time against the conference as they have fallen to North Carolina twice (19-4 in 2009 and 18-8 in 2012) as well as to Notre Dame. 

THE SERIES
This is the second career meeting between the two schools with the other coming in 2013 during the first round of the NCAA Tournament. 

The Fighting Irish won that contest, 9-7. That game was also played in South Bend, Indiana. 

ABOUT NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame is ranked No. 1 by the media and No. 2 in the coaches poll as the Fighting Irish have started the year with wins over Georgetown (12-7) and Bellarmine (11-6).

Local product Sergio Perkovic leads the team with five goals and is tied for the team lead with five points. Matt Kavanagh has a goal and four assists and Eddy Lubowicki has found the back of the net four times.

P.J. Finley is the faceoff specialist winning 66.7 percent (26-of-39) with a team-high 10 ground balls, while John Sexton tops the squad with four caused turnovers.

Shane Doss has played every minute in net and has made 22 saves for a .629 save percentage along with a 6.50 goals against average. 

Notre Dame assistant coach Matt Karweck was an assistant coach at Detroit in 2011, helping the team reach its first MAAC Championship title game. 

AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
Detroit is looking for its first-ever victory over a nationally-ranked team as the Titans are 0-9 in their short history against top 20 programs.

Below is a look at the Titans' history against nationally-ranked teams
Mar. 3, 2009 at #3/3 North Carolina - L, 19-4
Feb. 5, 2011 at #17/15 Delaware - L, 13-5
Feb. 19, 2011 at #4/4 Maryland - L, 16-4
Feb. 4, 2012 at #19/18 Delaware - L, 19-6
Feb. 18, 2012 at #6/5 North Carolina - L, 18-8
Feb. 9, 2013 at #19/20 Ohio State - L, 14-8
May 11, 2013 at #2/6/5 Notre Dame (NCAA) - L, 9-7
Feb. 27, 2015 vs. #16/17 Marquette - L, 12-6
Feb. 13, 2015 at #11/12 Ohio State - L, 16-5

UNDEFEATED IN THE D
The Titans were one of eight teams in the nation that went undefeated at home in 2015 going 6-0 with three wins apiece at their indoor facility Ultimate Soccer Arenas and outdoors on Titan Field. 

Joining the Titans as undefeated at home last season were: North Carolina (10-0), Syracuse (8-0), Maryland (6-0), Cornell (5-0), Denver (5-0), Albany (4-0) and Hobart (3-0).

A LITTLE WET BEHIND THE EAR
The Titans are one of the youngest teams in the country as they have 32 underclassmen on its 47-man roster, including 17 true freshmen.

Detroit also has just six seniors on its roster. 

ANOTHER HEBDEN MAKING HIS MARK
Senior Andy Hebden tallied his first collegiate hat trick in the season opener at No. 11/12 Ohio State.

Through two games, he has five goals and six points on the season, approaching his career high of eight goals and five assists as a freshman.

A team captain, Hebden is the younger brother of former team captain and three-time All-MAAC defenseman Jamie Hebden '13. 

THREE IN FOR GILHOOLY
Sophomore Alec Gilhooly posted his first career hat trick along with a career-best four points at Mercer on Feb. 20.

Gilhooly had all three of his goals and four points in the 5-0 Titan run that knotted the game at 8-8 with 8:32 left in the contest.

SWEET PICKENS
Freshman Bo Pickens had a great collegiate debut collecting a game-high three caused turnovers at No. 11/12 Ohio State in the season opener.

NEW TO THE O
The Titan offense will need to replace some major parts with the departures of Shayne Adams, Brandon Beauregard, Mike Birney and Scott Drummond due to graduation. 

In total, Detroit will have to replace 91 goals and 134 points from last year's team.

NO EASY ONE'S
The Titans have never been afraid to play anyone and this year is no different with one of the most challenging non-conference schedules in school history.

On the docket is Air Force, Notre Dame, Marquette, Michigan and Ohio State 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.

THE GREAT WALL OF WEBER
Junior Jason Weber 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.

He has recorded double-digit saves in 24 of his 27 career games, including 16 with 15+, 11 with 17 or more and two with 20 or more. 

In 27 career games – all starts – he has posted 406 saves, a .604 save percentage and a 9.94 goals against average, the latter two school records.

In the season opener, Weber made 18 saves at No. 11/12 Ohio State. 

RETURN OF THE SHARK
Sophomore Mark Anstead is back to quarterback the offense.

Through two games, he has one goal and a team-high three assists.

He was the MAAC's Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-League last season and was listed among the top 25 rookies in all three of Inside Lacrosse's Freshmen Rankings.

Anstead ended the year second on the team with 38 points, tied for second with 17 assists and third notching 21 goals.  The 17 assists is tied for the fourth most in school history, while the 38 points is 10th and his 2.71 points per game is seventh.

He tallied a goal in 12 of UDM's 14 games – including three hat tricks - while scoring a point in all 14 contests. He posted a season-high six-points against Robert Morris with his first collegiate hat trick firing in three goals. The six points were one shy of the Titan freshman record, and he became just the fourth Titan true freshmen to reach six points in a game.

BITETTI NAMED A CANDIDATE FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Paul Bitetti has captained the Detroit defense on and off the field for the past couple of years and he was announced as a candidate for this season's Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate lacrosse.

Twenty lacrosse student-athletes were selected as candidates for the Senior CLASS Award®, including two from the MAAC as he was joined by Joseph Radin of Marist. 

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. 

WEBER TABBED PRESEASON HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICAN BY INSIDE LACROSSE
Junior Jason Weber was named a Preseason Honorable Mention All-American by Inside Lacrosse. It is the second year in a row that Weber has been nominated and he also the only person from the MAAC on the list. The award is the third in the preseason for Weber as he was named All-MAAC by Inside Lacrosse and in the preseason coaches voting. 

Weber had another stellar season in net for the Titans as a sophomore as he was selected MAAC Defensive Player of the Week five times en route to earning Second Team All-Conference honors. He led the nation for the second-straight year with 14.43 saves per game and was third in the country with a .589 save percentage.

He posted a 10.26 goals against average and allowed single-digit goals in seven of his 14 games. He compiled double-digit saves in 12 of his 14 starts, including 15 or more seven times. He ended his sophomore campaign with a school-record 202 stops, the third most in the country and the most in the conference, and also led Detroit with 39 ground balls. 

Weber made national headlines last year as he recorded the Division I single-game high with a school-record 28 saves against Mercer on March 4, tying a MAAC record that was set in 2004, and that led him to earn Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week honors.

BITETTI, WEBER EARNS PRESEASON ACCOLADES, TITANS SHARE FOURTH
Senior Paul Bitetti and junior Jason Weber started the season with an award on their resume as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) released its preseason teams and coaches poll. 

The teams and polls were voted on by the league's seven head coaches.

Detroit was picked to finish in a tie for fourth place with Siena as both teams totaled 24 points. The defending MAAC champion Marist Red Foxes were picked to finish first with 47 points, while Quinnipiac was second (41) and Monmouth third (36). Rounding out the poll was Canisius (17) and Manhattan (7).

Bitetti was selected Preseason All-MAAC at defense for the second-straight year. A two-time First Team All-MAAC defender, Bitetti played in 12 games a season ago and was second on the squad with 14 caused turnovers, while picking up five ground balls. 

Weber is a preseason All-Conference selection for the second-straight year and is coming off another great season in which he was All-MAAC Second Team. He 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. He finished third in the MAAC with a 10.26 goals against average.

INSIDE LACROSSE PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Inside Lacrosse's Face-Off Yearbook had two Titans receive preseason accolades in senior Paul Bitetti and junior Jason Weber. 

The Titans were also selected fourth by Inside Lacrosse behind Marist, Monmouth and Quinnipiac. Siena was tabbed fifth, while Canisius and Manhattan were sixth and seventh, respectively. 

HONOR THY CAPTAIN
Senior defenseman Paul Bitetti, senior goalie Connor Flynn and senior midfielder Andy Hebden will all wear the "C" for this season. 

All three have been valuable leaders on the field as well as in the classroom, where they have earned numerous academic accolades on the UDM Athletic Director's Honor Roll, the MAAC Academic Honor Roll and the All-MAAC Academic Team.

"These three individuals represent what our program is all about, both on and off the field," said head coach Chris Kolon. "They are three of the hardest workers on the team, great student-athletes, and they will do whatever it takes for the success of the program."

JESUIT PRIDE
Detroit 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.

BLOODLINES
The program might only be eight years old, but the Titans have already developed some family ties.

Sophomore Sean Birney is the younger brother of former MAAC Championship Most Outstanding Player Mike Birney (2012-15) and UDM senior women's lacrosse player Kylie, who is a captain on the Detroit's women's lacrosse team and was named the Atlantic Sun Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year. 

Also on the team is junior Brad Harris, the brother of 2012 graduate and all-time leading scorer Scott Harris (2009-12). Scott also holds the distinction of netting the first goal in Titan history.

Junior Kyle Beauregard is the younger brother of former starting attackman Brandon Beauregard (2012-15), while sophomore Pat Masterson is the younger brother of 2014 graduate and one of the top scorers in school history Tom Masterson.

Finally, team captain Andy Hebden is the younger brother of former Team MVP and All-MAAC selection Jamie Hebden (200-13).