DETROIT (3/18/2017) -- Sophomore
Matthew Vangalen scored a career-high four goals and the Titans used a second-half charge to down Manhattan, 14-11, in the MAAC opener for both teams on a snowy Saturday afternoon at Titan Field.
Vangalen finished with a game-high five points - tying his career high - while adding an assist and a ground ball. Junior
Lucas Ducharme and freshmen
Donavon Dempsey and
Seth Mendell each netted a pair of goals – a new career best for Ducharme - and sophomore
Patrick Walsh handed out two assists.
Senior
Jason Weber made nine saves to tie the school record of 609 in his career, while also coming up with two ground balls and a caused turnover.
Junior
Will Kane tied his career high with three caused turnovers and had a pair of ground balls and senior
Ben Gjokaj was 10-of-18 in faceoffs with five ground balls and he also found the back of the net for his first career goal.
Vangalen got Detroit Mercy (3-6, 1-0 MAAC) going with an unassisted marker just two minutes into the contest, but Manhattan (2-6, 0-1 MAAC) came right back to score three in a row. That run ended as Dempsey tallied one at the 9:59 mark. The Titans would then knot it at 3-3 early in the second as Vangalen posted his second goal of the game.
The Jaspers took a 5-3 lead with back-to-back scores, but the Titans answered that with six-straight markers to end the period, thanks to defensive stops and winning faceoffs. Mendell notched his goals to start the charge, one off a pass from senior
Kyle Beauregard and another from Vangalen and the game was tied at 5-5 with 5:59 left in the opening frame.
Junior
Sean Birney then fed Vangalen and he had his hat trick with 4:54 left in the second quarter. Junior
Alec Gilhooly beat the keeper with 2:05 remaining in the period and then Ducharme unleashed a shot that found the back of the net with just 1:14 on the clock for an 8-5 advantage. On the ensuing faceoffs, Gjokaj won the battle and the ball ended up in the hands of junior captain
Charlie Hayes and he tickled the twine for a 9-5 lead at the break.
Manhattan responded with four straight to tie it again at 9-9, but the red, white and blue never trailed as Ducharme struck for his second with 6:39 left in the third. Birney ripped one past the goalie with 4:50 on the clock and on the next faceoff, Gjokaj claimed another win, picked up the ground ball and made his way to the cage, firing a shot to the back of the net and the Titans had a 12-9 advantage.
Vangalen added his career-high fourth with six seconds left in the third and Detroit Mercy added an insurance goal late in the fourth as Walsh located Dempsey and he put in the man-up goal.
Hayes ended the game with a caused turnover and two ground balls. Redshirt freshman
Lucas Leyba had a caused turnover and two ground balls and junior
Pat Masterson scooped up two GB's.
The Titans outshot Manhattan, 42-33, and were 23-of-24 on clears. Detroit Mercy was also 16-of-29 on faceoffs and saw Manhattan commit 16 turnovers with the Titans registering nine caused turnovers.
The Titans will be on the road for the next two weeks as they play at Quinnipiac next Sunday, March 26, with game time scheduled for 11 a.m. That game will be played at Yale.
Game Notes
The game was delayed by 30 minutes to clear the field from a snowstorm that blew in overnight… The Titans now lead the all-time series, 5-4, and are 4-0 against Manhattan at home… Detroit Mercy is now 5-3 all-time in MAAC openers and 6-2 all-time in home conference openers… Detroit Mercy has netted double-digit goals four times this season after not accomplishing that at all last year… Detroit Mercy's 14 goals were the most since winning at Siena, 14-13, in 2015… The 14 goals at home were the most since defeating Manhattan, 14-8, in 2013… The Titans came into the game leading the MAAC in clearing percentage at 87.5 percent… Weber did not register a double-digit save for just the eighth time in 46 career games… Weber is now tied with A.J. Levell for the most in school history... Vangalen's previous career high in goals was three against Bellarmine and Mercer… Vangalen's other five-point game was at RV/#17 Ohio State in the season opener on three assists and two goals… Vangalen now has 35 points on the season, just 14 shy breaking the school mark of 49 (42g, 7a) held by Shayne Adams in 2014… Kane also had three caused turnovers against Marquette… Gjokaj had taken three shots in his career and two this season before finding the back of the net for his first goal… Ducharme's career high in points was two against Manhattan last year… Hayes' other career goal was on a snowy Titan Field last year against Siena
