DETROIT - (1/31/2019) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team will start the 2019 season at home as the Titans host Jacksonville on Saturday, Feb. 2.

Game time is set for 11:30 a.m. and will be played at Total Sports Park in Washington Township, Michigan. There will be live stats but no live broadcast of the game. 

There are still a number of tickets available and they can only be purchased ONLINE by clicking here. 

Detroit Mercy is coming off its best season in school history winning a school-record nine games and five conference games, finishing second in the MAAC and advancing to the championship contest.

Jacksonville was 8-7 overall last year and 5-2 in the Southern Conference, falling in its conference championship in overtime to Richmond, 11-10. 

Detroit Mercy and Jacksonville were once MAAC rivals when the Dolphins were in the MAAC from 2011-13. Jacksonville leads the all-time series, 3-2, but the Titans are 2-0 when the game is played in the State of Michigan, defeating the Sunshine State program 12-11 indoors in Pontiac in 2017 and 8-7 at Titan Field in 2012. Last year, the red, white and blue fell, 15-8, at Jacksonville. 

Offense
The Titans bring back their top three goal and point scorers from a year ago in senior Matthew Vangalen, junior Seth Mendell and sophomore Brett Erskine, but will have to replace a host of players that accounted for 84 goals and 124 points in the likes of Sean Birney, Alec Gilhooly and Charlie Hayes.

Vangalen has already cemented himself as one of the best offensive players in the league and is already a two-time All-MAAC selection. He tallied a school-record 51 points on a career-best 31 goals with 20 assists last season and ranked seventh In the MAAC in points per game (3.19), assists per game (1.25) and goals per game (1.94).

Erskine was a member of the MAAC All-Rookie Team as he recorded 22 goals and 13 assists for 35 points, while leading the team and placing second in the MAAC and 22nd in the nation in shot percentage at .449. He came alive as he got used to the college game as he notched a goal in the last 10 games on the season and had nine multi-goal contests on the year. 

Mendell has been a consistent attackman for the Titans in his two years posting 26 points on 18 goals and eight assists as a freshman and then 27 points on 19 goals and eight helpers last year, despite battling an injury during the season. 

Junior captain Connor Bennardo, junior Matt Turner and sophomore Ryan Figueiras also have experience under their belt and will look to make up for some of the losses in the Titan offense and the team also has a host of talented freshmen that will look to get in the mix.

Defense
Senior Sam Horton and junior Alex Akins will be two of the main stalwarts with the long pole, while seniors Emmett Green, Brett Lubin and Bo Pickens will look to pick up the strong play of the defensive midfielders as Detroit Mercy tallied 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. 

Horton played in all 16 games with 15 starts last and was second on the team with a career-high 19 caused turnovers, ranking fifth in the MAAC with 1.19 caused turnovers per game. He has improved every year since he arrived on campus and is now one of the leaders on defense. 

Akins quickly established himself as one of the best defenders in the league in his first year and is now a two-time All-MAAC honoree, including First Team honors last season. He posted 11 caused turnovers and picked up a career-high 23 ground balls in 2018 and is often assigned to the opposition's best scorer. 

Green saw action in 15 games last year and had seven caused turnovers and nine ground balls to go with a goal and three assists, while Pickens returned from an injury that kept him out all of 2017 and ended up playing in all 16 games and was credited with five caused turnovers and 12 ground balls. Lubin redshirted last season, but played in 14 games in 2017. 

Sophomore Paul Manuszak is back at long stick midfield as he put together a fine rookie campaign with 17 ground balls, three caused turnovers and two goals. 

The Titans will also have a number of transfers and redshirts as well as some veteran and new faces who will look for time on defense. 

Goalie
The Titans will have four talented netminders on the roster, led by returning starter Logan Shamblin, a member of the MAAC All-Freshman Team last season. He started 15 games and registered a school-record nine wins and was 5-0 in MAAC play during the regular season, ending the year 14th in the nation in save percentage (.544), 18th in saves per game (10.8) and 20th in goals against average (9.13). Shamblin allowed fewer than 10 goals in nine games and recorded double-digit saves on 11 games occasions, including a season-high 15 saves and season-best eight ground balls against Siena.

Faceoff
The Titans should be in good hands in faceoffs as junior Alex Jarzembowski leads a quartet of players who will look to get the ball to the offense. 

Jarzembowski was Second Team All-MAAC as a faceoff specialist last season, winning  52.1 percent of his faceoffs overall picking up a career-best 46 ground balls, but in MAAC play, he won 55.3 percent. As a freshman, he won 57.4 percent (74-of-129), a new school record and second in the MAAC with  34 ground balls. 

Schedule
Detroit Mercy will be playing a lot on the road with just four games in the state of Michigan and three on campus on Titan Field.

The Titans will play some of the best teams in the nation on the road at nationally-ranked Marquette and Notre Dame as well as some tough non-conference games at Air Force, at Bellarmine, at Cleveland State, at Utah and home versus Jacksonville.

Detroit Mercy will have a six-game road trip during the year and end the season with two-straight road games before the MAAC Championship, held at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY.