DETROIT (11/30/2018) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team has always had a strong leadership core and for 2019, three Titans will wear the "C" on their jersey as senior Matthew Vangalen and juniors Alex Akins and Connor Bennardo were named team captains.
 
All three student-athletes are members of the Detroit Mercy Athletic Director's Honor Roll, the MAAC Academic Honor Roll and the MAAC All-Academic Team. 
 
"Leadership is one of the reasons why we have had success in this program," said head coach Chris Kolon '09 (MBA). "These three student-athletes have excelled on the field and in the classroom and their dedication and leadership was recognized by the entire team with a captains vote."
 
Vangalen is one of the top offensive players in the MAAC and has been selected Second Team All-League in each of the last two seasons. Last year, he started all 16 games and led the team with a school-record 51 points on a career-high 31 goals and 20 assists, ranking seventh in the MAAC in points per game (3.19), assists per game (1.25) and goals per game (1.94), while tying for first with three game-winning goals. He enters his senior campaign fourth all-time in scoring with 98 points, fifth with 41 assists and sixth with 57 goals.
 
Akins has been one of the standout defenders in the conference, earning Second Team All-MAAC as a freshman and then First Team last season. He ended 2018 fifth on the squad with 11 caused turnovers and seventh picking up a career-high 23 ground balls. He helped the Titan defense post 8.56 caused turnovers per game to not only lead the MAAC, but also rank eighth in the country, as well as ranking second in the conference and 19th in the nation in scoring defense at 9.38 goals per game. 
 
Bennardo has appeared in 20 games in his career, tallying five assists and a goal. He helped guide the Titans not only on gameday, but in preparation for their recent success, which includes the team's school record nine wins and five conference victories last year. He has posted five assists and a goal in his career.  
 
Detroit Mercy will begin its 11th varsity season in 2019 and a schedule will be released shortly.