DETROIT (2/16/2018) -- It will be a busy week for the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team as the Titans play two games in three days down South.

The Titans open the trip at Mercer on Sunday, Feb. 18, before traveling to Jacksonville on Tuesday, Feb. 20. Neither game will have a live broadcast, but both will have live stats.

Detroit Mercy started the year battling the nationally-ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and had a 6-4 lead in the third before falling 10-7.

Sophomore Matthew Vangalen had five points on three assists and two goals and redshirt freshman Logan Shamblin made 11 saves in net. The Titans forced 21 Notre Dame turnovers and were 19-of-21 in clears. 

The next home game for the Titans will be next Saturday, Feb. 24, when the red, white and blue host nationally-ranked Marquette at Wisner Stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. Tickets are set at $10 and are only available at the gate through cash or charge. 
 
10 YEARS OF TITAN LACROSSE

• The first-ever game for the Titans was on Feb. 7, 2009, when the red, white and blue fell at Ohio State, 21-1. Scott Harris netted the first goal in school history.
• In the first decade, the Titans have made the MAAC playoffs in six of their eight years in the conference, winning the 2013 MAAC Championship and advancing to the championship game in 2011. 

THE LONG ROAD AHEAD

• Detroit Mercy will travel more than 1,000 miles to play these road games. 

HOME SWEET HOME

• The Titans will start the season with three-straight road games, but once they get back from Florida, Detroit Mercy will have just three more road trips the rest of the season and all of those are in conference play at Monmouth, Canisius and Manhattan. 

AGAINST THE SOCON

• The Titans are 13-19 all-time against current teams from the Southern Conference, including 4-1 versus VMI, 4-2 against Mercer, 2-2 against Jacksonville, 0-4 versus Air Force and 2-7 against Bellarmine.
• Detroit Mercy will play four SoCon opponents on the year in Bellarmine, Mercer, Jacksonville and Air Force. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MERCER

• Detroit Mercy is 4-0 all-time against Mercer, but the Bears have won the last two meetings.
• The Titans are 3-0 at home, 1-1 on the road and 0-1 in neutral locations.
• The last two losses have been by a combined three goals.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. JACKSONVILLE

• Detroit Mercy and Jacksonville were once MAAC rivals when the Dolphins were in the conference from 2011-13.
• The all-time series is tied at 2-2 as each team has rotated wins and losses with the Titans defeating the Dolphins, 12-11, indoors in Pontiac.
• All four meetings have been decided by two goals or less. 

HAYES WITH THE FIRST SCORE

• Senior Charlie Hayes was the first goal scorer of 2018 as the All-MAAC short stick midfielder beat the Fighting Irish in transition and found the back of the net. 

NO ROOKIE JITTERS

• Redshirt freshman Logan Shamblin showed no signs of being nervous as he earned the start in net at No. 6 Notre Dame.
• He finished with 11 saves - five in the third period alone - and picked up three ground balls in the tough 10-7 setback. 

VANTASTIC

• Sophomore transfer Matthew Vangalen had a great start to his Titan career challenging the school record for points in a single season last year, and he started 2018 with a bang.
• Vangalen tallied a team-high five points on two goals and three assists at Notre Dame and also caused a pair of turnovers. 
• He was selected All-MAAC Second Team in 2017 after posting 47 points – third in school history – 26 goals – seventh in school history – and 21 assists – tied for second in Titan record books.
• He also ranked fourth in the MAAC with 1.31 assists per game, fifth with 2.94 points per game and sixth with 1.63 points per game
• Vangalen was not just a shooter looking for points as he picked his spots recording a .648 shots on goal percentage. 

GO GET HIM CHUCK

• University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse senior Charlie Hayes was honored with a preseason accolade in the Preseason MAAC Short Stick Midfielder and he did not disappoint ending with a goal, three ground balls a caused turnover and some great defense on the UND scorers. 
• The two-year captain was selected Second Team All-MAAC last season after playing in all 16 games and ending the year with a career-high 21 caused turnovers and 42 ground balls, while scoring five goals.
• On the road at Quinnipiac, he tallied a career-high five caused turnovers, picked up five ground balls and scored a goal. Those five turnovers were tied for the third most caused turnovers in NCAA Division I and the most of any defensive midfielder in the country.
• Off the field, he was a member of the Detroit Mercy Athletic Director's Honor Roll as well as the MAAC Academic Honor Roll and the MAAC All-Academic Team.

MENDELL NOT A ROOKIE ANYMORE

• Sophomore Seth Mendell quickly went from a rookie last season to one of the top players on the team. 
• He was named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team after starting all 16 games at attack and tied for second on the team with 26 points and eight assists and tied for third scoring 18 goals
• Mendell led all MAAC freshmen in goals and was second in points
• He recorded his first collegiate hat trick in a big way as he exploded for six goals versus Bellarmine, tied for first in the MAAC and the second most in school history, and it was also tied for the fourth most goals by anyone in Division I on the season
• His six goals came on just six shots as he was one of just two players in Division I to score at least six goals on a perfect shooting percentage. 
• Mendell started the year with a goal and an assist and two ground balls at nationally-ranked Notre Dame. 

LOOKING FOR MORE

• Senior Alec Gilhooly will look for another career season as he set career highs in almost every statistical category as a junior. 
• Gilhooly finished second on the team with 19 goals, tied for second with 26 points and tied for third handing out seven assists. 
• He also tied for the team and conference lead with seven man-up goals, which was also tied for sixth in the nation.
• In the MAAC Championship semifinals against eventual conference champion Monmouth, he recorded a career-high four goals.
• In his career, he has 32 goals and 14 assists for 46 points. 

BIRNEY BOMBS

• Senior Sean Birney is back at midfield after finishing fifth on the team with a career-high 15 goals and 21 points last season.
• He also handed out six assists, sixth on the squad, and tied for the team and conference lead with seven man-up goals, which was also tied for sixth in the nation. 
• In his career, he has 29 goals, 18 assists and 47 points.

BLOODLINES

• The program might only be just 10 years old, but the Titans have already developed some family ties.
• Senior Sean Birney is the younger brother of former MAAC Championship Most Outstanding Player Mike Birney (2012-15) and Detroit Mercy women's lacrosse player Kylie, a four-year letter winner who was the Atlantic Sun Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a junior and senior. 
• Also on the team is senior Pat Masterson, the younger brother of 2014 graduate and one of the top scorers in school history Tom Masterson, a member of the 2013 championship team. 

TAKING ADVANTAGE

• Detroit Mercy led the MAAC with 23 man-up goals last year and was 1-of-2 at Notre Dame. 
• 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. 

ALEX THE GREAT 

• Sophomore Alex Jarzembowski is back at the faceoff-X position going 7-for-19 at Notre Dame. 
• As a rookie, he saw action in 14 games and led the team in faceoff winning percentage at 57.4 percent (74-of-129), a new school record and second in the MAAC. He also finished fourth on the team with 34 ground balls.
• He broke out in a big way winning 14-of-21 with seven ground balls at Robert Morris and was 12-of-17 and tying his career-best with seven ground balls at Siena.

LEAVE IT TO THE LSM

• Sophomore long-stick midfielder and defender Alex Akins had a strong start to his second season posting a pair of caused turnovers and limiting Notre Dame attackers in the season opener. 
• As a freshman, he earned All-MAAC Second Team and All-Rookie Team recognition after playing in all 16 games with 12 starts and was third on the team with 12 caused turnovers while picking up 15 ground balls.    
• His value on defense was shown in the road win at Quinnipiac as he posted a caused turnover and two ground balls, but more importantly, was the primary defender on Quinnipiac's leading goal scorer and All-League attackman Brian Feldman, holding him to just one goal late in the game.

DON'T MESS WITH TEX

• Senior Will Kane had two ground balls in the season opener at Notre Dame. 
• He played in all 16 games with 15 starts last season and was second on the Team with a career-high 17 caused turnovers and sixth racking up a career-best 22 ground balls.
• He has played in 37 career games and has tallied 25 caused turnovers - 10th in school history - and 45 ground balls. 

PAT IN THE TOP 10

• Senior LSM Pat Masterson posted a caused turnover and three ground balls at Notre Dame.
• He is now in top 10 in school history in both categories as he is tied for eighth with 26 caused turnovers and 10th with 77 ground balls.