DETROIT (4/21/2017) -- It is not an elimination game, but nonetheless, an important conference game this weekend for both programs as the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team visits Marist on Saturday, April 22.
Game time is set for 1 p.m., at Tenney Stadium on the campus of Marist. There will be a live stream – available for a small fee – as well as live stats.
Detroit Mercy comes into the game at 5-8 overall, 3-2 in the MAAC, while Marist is 7-5, 2-2 in conference play. A win by the Titans would clinch at least a No. 3 seed in the MAAC Championships, while a loss would have the Titans scoreboard watching to see the results of a few other teams in the last two weeks of MAAC play.
For Marist, a win could go a long way in securing a playoff bid, while a loss would have the Red Foxes also watching other team's results.
THE OPENING FACEOFF
The regular season MAAC finale has playoff implications for both teams as Detroit Mercy goes on the road to face Marist in a game that has the potential to decide a playoff spot.
AGAINST THE MAAC
Detroit Mercy is 24-25 in regular season league play since joining the MAAC in 2010.
The Titans need just one more win to clinch a playoff spot. A loss would not eliminate the Titans, but they would have to scoreboard watch and see the outcomes of a couple of MAAC games in the final two weeks.
The Titans began their MAAC history with a 2-6 mark in 2010 and were 4-2 in 2011 and 2015.
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.
ABOUT THE RED FOXES
Marist has had a bit of an up and down season, but enters on a two-game win streak and wins in three of its last four games.
J.D. Recor leads the team and is third in the MAAC with 42 points on 16 goals and a MAAC-high 26 assists, while Gannon Morrison has 19 goals and 29 points.
Matt Galloto is 73-of-146 (50.0%) in faceoffs with 29 ground balls, while Ralph Faiella has a team-high 34 GB's.
Brian Corrigan is second in the MAAC with a 7.86 goals against average, while topping the team with a .610 save percentage.
ALL-TIME VS. MARIST
This has been one of the most hotly contested series in Titan history as eight of the 10 games have been decided by three goals or less, including six by one goal and two going into overtime.
The teams have also met three times in the postseason with the Titans defeating the high-seeded Marist squad in 2011 and 2013.
Detroit Mercy is 0-4 on the road in the series and has actually never won at Tenney Field losing their other two neutral games in the MAAC semifinals.
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
There is still two weeks left in the season, but three spots in the MAAC playoffs are up for grabs.
The Titans could still climb all the way to the No. 2 seed, but could also found themselves as low as six.
The easiest route for Detroit Mercy is a win at Marist, which would clinch at least a No. 3 seed at 4-2 overall.
A loss by the Titans would leave them at 3-3 and that could be good enough for the No. 3 or 4 seed or they could drop to No. 6 if they were to end up a 5-way tie for second at 3-3, in which case the five teams would be seeded by goal differential.
A loss would also mean the Titans would be scoreboard watching next week to see if Marist can defeat Siena because that would also clinch a spot.
655 & COUNTING
With his seven saves against Canisius, senior
Jason Weber extended his school record to 655 career saves - tops among all active Division I goalies.
Weber broke the mark of 609 set by A.J. Levell (2010-13) at Quinnipiac, where he also had 13 saves in a road win
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 147 ground balls.
THE GREAT WALL OF WEBER
Senior
Jason Weber has now recorded double-digit saves in 41 of his 50 career games, including 17 with 15+, 11 with 17 or more and two with 20 or more.
In 50 career games – 49 starts – he has posted 655 saves, a .570 save percentage - second in school history - and a school record 10.05 goals against average.
He tallied 13 saves against high-scoring Quinnipiac and Siena on the road to help the Titans get off to a 3-0 start in MAAC play. He also had 13 saves against Monmouth last week.
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 655 saves and 13.10 saves per game.
The next highest on that list in total saves is Christian Carson-Banister of Boston University (587), while Tim Troutner of High Point is second in saves per game with 12.50.
VANTASTIC
Sophomore transfer
Matthew Vangalen has had a great start to his Titan career and is currently on pace to challenge the school record for points in a single season.
He currently has 44 points through 13 games and at his current pace of 3.38 points per game, he would total roughly 50 points on the year, breaking the school mark of 49 (42g, 7a) held by Shayne Adams in 2014.
He posted his fourth hat trick of the year with three goals against Canisius. He also had a career-best four goals and career-tying five points against Manhattan.
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, held by current Director of Operations Alex Maini and Joel Matthews. Against Bellarmine, he tallied three goals and two assists against the Knights.
BRINGING THE D
Detroit Mercy is currently third in the MAAC in scoring defense (10.85), caused turnovers (7.00) and saves per game (10.92).
LEADING THE OFFENSE
Sophomore
Matthew Vangalen leads the team with 44 points on 25 goals and 19 assists.
His 44 points is currently second among all MAAC performers and tied for third in school history, four away from the second spot and five shy of first place.
Vangalen's 25 goals is fifth in the league and tied for seventh in school history.
His 19 assists are fourth in the MAAC and in school history - one away from third place.
In the nation, he ranks 47th with 1.46 assists per game and 52nd with 3.38 points per game - fifth in the league in both categories.
He is also second in the league and 29th in the nation in shooting percentage (.424).
GIVE IT TO ME
The Titans posted a season-high 13 caused turnovers in their win at Quinnipiac.
The 13 caused turnovers were the most since posting 13 against Manhattan in 2015.
Detroit Mercy is now third in the MAAC and 27th in the country with 7.00 caused turnovers per game.
OFFENSE ON THE RISE
Detroit Mercy has netted double-digit goals five times this season after not accomplishing that at all last year.
The Titans tallied a season-high 14 goals in their win over Manhattan, the most goals since a 14-13 victory at Siena in 2015.
MAKE IT CLEAR
Detroit Mercy has had some great games with the clear going 15-of-16 at Ohio State, 21-of-22 against Mercer and 23-of-24 against Manhattan.
The 23 clears is tied for second in school history behind the 26-of-29 mark against Wagner in 2011.
WINNING THE GROUND BALL BATTLE
The Titans won the battle of ground balls for the fourth time this season, 30-22, at Siena and that was after a convincing 41-27 tally on the road at Quinnipiac.
The 41 ground balls are tied for eighth in school history and the most since the Titans scooped up 43 against Manhattan in 2012.
TAKING ADVANTAGE
Detroit Mercy is currently first in the MAAC with 19 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.
DON'T MESS WITH TEX
Junior
Will Kane - who hails from Dallas - already has a career-high 16 caused turnovers along with a career-best 21 ground balls.
He tied his career high with three caused turnovers against Manhattan and had two caused turnovers and three ground balls at Quinnipiac.
Kane had three ground balls against Bellarmine and three caused turnovers at Marquette at the Midwest Classic.
His 16 caused turnovers is tied for ninth in the MAAC, while his 1.23 caused turnovers is fifth in the league and 55th in the nation.
GO GET HIM CHUCK
Junior defensive midfielder
Charlie Hayes recorded one of the best defensive games of the season in the road win at Quinnipiac.
Hayes tallied a career-high five caused turnovers, tied his career high picking up a game-best five ground balls and even scored a goal in the win over the Bobcats, all while holding Quinnipiac's second-leading goal scorer Foster Cuomo – the Co-MAAC Preseason Player of the Year - off the stat sheet.
The five caused turnovers were the most since
Paul Bitetti had five against Bellarmine in 2014, and just two away from the school record.
He is also tied with 14 others for the third most in NCAA Division I this season, but he does have the most of any defensive midfielder in the country.
He is sixth in school history with 32 caused turnovers as he has a career-best 17 on the year, tied for second in the MAAC, while his 1.31 is second in the conference and 42nd in the nation.
BACK-TO-BACK-TO BACK TALLIES
Junior
Charlie Hayes is one of the best defensive midfielders in the game, but he has shown his offensive skills coming up with goals in three-straight games against Manhattan and at Quinnipiac and at Siena. He added another goal last week against Monmouth.
Prior to the Manhattan game, Hayes had one career marker - last year against Siena - in his first 22 career games.
MENDELL 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 first in the MAAC this year and the second most in school history.
It was also the most by a Titan since Shayne Adams had six at Marist in 2014.
He recently just tied his career high with six points at Siena on four goals and two assists.
He is currently third in the MAAC and 44th in the NCAA in shooting percentage at 40.0 percent.
Mendell is second on the Titans with 16 goals and 22 points as he leads all MAAC rookies in those categories.
PERFECT SHOOTING
Freshman
Seth Mendell posted a season-best six goals against Bellarmine at the Midwest Classic, but even more impressive is that the six goals came on just six shots.
He is one of just two players in NCAA Division I with at least six goals on a perfect shooting percentage as Navy's David Little had nine goals on nine shots against Lehigh.
DEMPSEY COMING UP BIG
Freshman
Donavon Dempsey is second on the team with seven assists and sixth with 10 goals and 17 points.
He posted a season-high three points with two goals and an assist at Robert Morris and also added two goals at Air Force and against Manhattan.
LEAVE IT TO THE LSM
Freshman long stick midfielder
Alex Akins was inserted into the starting line-up nine games ago and his play has picked up considerably as has the Titan defense.
At Quinnipiac, he had a caused turnover and two ground balls, but more importantly, he was the primary defender on QU's leading goal scorer Brian Feldman – who came into the game with 21 goals and 23 points – holding him to just one goal which came with the Titans up 8-3 with four minutes left.
Last week against Monmouth, he posted a season-high three caused turnovers.
Against Canisius, he came up with his first point on an assist finding
Matthew Vangalen in transition.
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 82-of-168 (48.8%) on the season with a career-high 36 ground balls.
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
ALEX THE GREAT LEADING THE MAAC
Freshman
Alex Jarzembowski had another great game at the faceoff X winning 12-of-17 and tying his career-best with seven ground balls at Siena.
On the season, he is leading the MAAC in winning 60-of-99 (60.6%) with 30 ground balls, including 57-of-91 (62.6%) with 28 GB's in the last eight games.
He won a season-best 14-of-21 faceoffs and scooped up a game-high seven ground balls at Robert Morris. He was 12-of-18 against Bellarmine with five ground balls and 8-of-13 with four GB's at Quinnipiac.
BO SETTING CAREER MARKS
Senior
Kyle Beauregard is ending his collegiate career in grand style as he is third on the team with 15 goals and fourth with 19 points - new career highs in both stats.
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 surpassed his career high of 18 points last year as he has 13 goals and six assists on the season.
Gilhooly has notched two goals in a game four times this season registering a pair at RV/#17 Ohio State, against Mercer, against Jacksonville and verse Monmouth.
