DETROIT (2/14/2019) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team will look for a big non-conference win as the Titans visit nationally-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday night, indoors at the Loftus Sports Center. 

Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra.

The game marks an opportunity to not only start off 2-0 for the first time in school history, but also post their first-ever victory against Notre Dame and over a ranked team as the Titans are  0-16 all-time against nationally-ranked programs, including 0-7 against top-10 teams.

Detroit Mercy downed Jacksonville, 9-8, in its season opener as junior Seth Mendell had three goals and an assist, junior Alex Jarzembowski was 15-of-21 in faceoffs with two goals and sophomore Logan Shamblin tied his career high with 15 saves.

Notre Dame is ranked No. 9 by Inside Lacrosse and No. 10 by the USILA as the game marks the season opener for the Fighting Irish. 

The contest marks the first of six-straight road games for the red, white and blue. 

SEASON #11 FOR TITAN LAX

• 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 of Titan lacrosse, Detroit Mercy won the 2013 MAAC Championship and advanced to the championship game in 2011.  
• The red, white and blue posted its first winning season in 2016 at 8-6 and broke that mark with a 9-7 mark last season. 
• The Titans have also been part of the MAAC for nine years and they have qualified for the postseason seven times, including trips to the championship game in three seasons. 

ALL-TIME VS. RANKED TEAMS

• The Titans are 0-16 all-time against nationally-ranked teams, including 0-7 all-time against top-10 teams.
• All three times the Titans have faced Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish have been ranked coming in at No. 6/5 in the NCAA Tournament in 2013, No. 1/2 in the regular season match-up in 2016 and No. 6/6 last year. 

ALL-TIME IN ROAD OPENERS

• The Titans are 0-10 all-time in road openers as this will be the second-straight year their first road game will be at Notre Dame. 

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Detroit Mercy is 0-3 all-time against Notre Dame and all three games have been on the road.
• One of the most memorable games was in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2013 as the Titans led 7-3 after three periods. before the Fighting Irish came back to win 9-7.
• In 2016 playing indoors, Notre Dame cruised to a 14-5 win, while last season, the red, white and blue led 6-4 with less than five minutes to go in the third when the Fighting Irish came back to take the game, 10-7. 

JESUIT PRIDE

• Detroit Mercy is one just eight Jesuit schools playing Division I lacrosse.
• The others are Canisius, Fairfield, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Loyola (Md.), Marquette and St. Joseph's.
• The Titans have played four of the Jesuit institutions in Canisius (6-5), Marquette (0-6), Georgetown (0-1) and Saint Joseph's (0-1). 

SCHOOL RECORD FOR WINS

• Detroit Mercy won its school record ninth game in the come-from-behind victory over Monmouth in the MAAC Championship semifinals last year. 
• The previous mark was 8-6 in 2015, which was head coach Chris Kolon's first year at the helm. 
• Detroit Mercy also posted a school-record five-game winning streak in 2018. 

COACH HICKS BACK HOME

• Titan assistant coach Dwayne Hicks will be back at his alma mater Notre Dame. 
• He is a 1985 graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Industrial Design with a concentration in automotive and product design. 
• After college, he played and coached professionally in the England Lacrosse Union. In each of his two seasons with the Timperley Rebels, he led his team to the national championship. 
• He was also given the opportunity to coach several members of Team England in preparation for the 1986 World Lacrosse Games.

2018 RECORD BREAKING

• The 2018 season proved to be a record-breaking one for Detroit Mercy as the Titans registered new standards in a number of categories.
• As a team, the 2018 squad is now first in the record books in total points (261), goals (165), assists (96), shots (565), shots on goal (346), least turnovers per game (14.38) and goals-against average (9.36).
• During the season, Detroit Mercy collected 31 total points for a new school mark at Manhattan on 18 goals and another school record 13 assists. 
• Individually, Matthew Vangalen set the school point record with 51 points in a season, breaking the mark of 49 by fellow Canadian Shayne Adams in 2014. He also topped another Titan Canadian when he tallied a school record 11 points at Manhattan, passing Joel Matthews' eight at Canisius in 2012.

GIVE ME THAT

• Detroit Mercy has had a history of being among the leaders in caused turnovers and the Titans are regained that form last season as they finished as a team top 10 in the nation in caused turnovers. 
• The Titans tallied 8.56 caused turnovers per game in 2018 to not only lead the MAAC, but also rank eighth in the country. 
• The red, white and blue led the nation in caused turnovers per game in 2012 (10.47) and 2011 (11.63), while finishing tied for second in 2013 (10.0) and third in 2010 (10.47).
• As a team, Detroit Mercy also ranked second in the conference and 19th in the nation in scoring defense letting in 9.38 goals per game, while finishing third in the league and 20th in Division I in clearing percentage at 88.9 percent.
• Individually, redshirt freshman Logan Shamblin was 14th in the nation in save percentage (.544), 18th in saves per game (10.8) and 20th in goals against average (9.13). 

KEEP 'EM OFF THE BOARD

• The Titan defense allowed less than 10 goals in nine games last year and started the season giving up just eight in the 9-8 victory over Jacksonville. 

BALANCED OFFENSE

• The Titans had 16 players score a goal last season, with five players at 15 or more and eight registering at least 10 markers.
• The offense is already off to the same kind of start sharing the ball as six players scored in the season-opening win over Jacksonville. 

CANADIAN POWER

• The Titans top two returning point scorers are both Canadian in senior Matthew Vangalen (49) and sophomore Brett Erskine (34).
• Vangalen accounted for 51 points on 31 goals and 20 assists, while Erskine tallied 35 points on 22 goals and 13 helpers. 

VANTASTIC

• Senior Matthew Vangalen set the school record for points last season recording 51 points on a career-high 31 goals with 20 assists.
• He enters the game just one point away from becoming the fourth Titan in school history to reach 100 career points as he is fourth all-time in scoring with 99 points, fifth with 42 assists and sixth with 57 goals. 
• Vangalen - a preseason All-MAAC selection by the coaches and Inside Lacrosse - was a Second Team All-MAAC honoree last year for the second-straight season.
• He was 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 and 10th in shots per game (5.88).
• Vangalen scored a goal in 12 games on with eight multi-goal games and five hat tricks and has nine hat tricks in his two years wearing the red, white and blue as he spent his freshman year at Furman. 
• He broke the school record with 11 points and tied another pair of school records with seven goals and four assists at Manhattan. He had two goals and three assists at No. 6/6 Notre Dame, a goal and three assists versus No. 4/6 Ohio State and posted four goals with two assists against Siena. 

THE BIG LOGAN

• Sophomore Logan Shamblin showed no signs of a sophomore slump in the season opener as he tied his career high with 15 saves in the 9-8 victory over Jacksonville.
• Following that game, he was tabbed the MAAC's Defensive Player of the Week. 
• He has now allowed 10 goals or less in 14 of his 16 games, including 10 contests with less than 10 goals. He has also recorded double-digit saves in 12  career games,  with 15 also against Siena last season.
• Shamblin was a member of the MAAC All-Freshman Team last year as he started all 15 games and picked up 9-0 wins, including going 5-0 in the MAAC during the regular season.
• He ended 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), and his 162 saves was the fifth most in school history, while his goals against average was second and save percentage fourth.
• Last year, he made his collegiate debut at nationally-ranked Notre Dame and tallied 11 saves and three ground balls, while allowing just 10 goals and a week later, he earned his first win in overtime with 10 stops at Mercer. 

ALEX THE GREAT 

• Junior Alex Jarzembowski - a preseason All-MAAC selection by the coaches and Inside Lacrosse - started the 2019 season off with a big performance in the win over Jacksonville, winning 15-of-21 faceoffs with five ground balls and scoring his first two collegiate goals.
• Coming into the contest, he had attempted just one shot in his first two seasons. 
• For that effort, he was tabbed the MAAC Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 4. 
• Jarzembowski was named to the All-MAAC Second Team in 2018 as he set a school record winning 163-of-313 (.521) with a career-best 46 ground balls, third on the team. In MAAC play, he boasted a .553 winning percentage (77-of-139). 
• He was 7-of-19 at nationally-ranked Notre Dame, 13-of-18 with a ground ball versus Air Force and tied a school record going 16-of-25 with four GB's against Marist and 16-of-24 with six ground balls at Monmouth in the MAAC Championship semifinals. 
• He is currently the school's career leader in faceoff winning percentage at .544 (252-of-463), while his 252 wins are third in the record book. 

MENDELL OFF TO A QUICK START

• Junior Seth Mendell could not wait for the season to start as he led the Titan offense with three goals and four points in the 9-8 victory over Jacksonville.
• It was his fourth career hat trick.
• Despite battling an injury, Mendell played in all 16 games with 14 starts last year and finished third on the team with a career-high 27 points, tied for third with a career-best 19 goals and fifth handing out eight assists, tying his rookie mark.
• In his career, he has 57 points on 40 goals and 17 assists in 33 games. 

ERSKINE SHINES

• Sophomore Brett Erskine earned MAAC All-Rookie Team recognition last season after he started all 16 games and was second on the team in points (35), goals (22) and assists (13).
• He also led the team and was second in the MAAC and 22nd in the nation in shot percentage at .449.
• Erskine scored a goal in the last 10 games on the season and had nine multi-goal contests on the year, while picking up 25 ground balls, tying for the team high among attackman.
• He registered two goals and an assist at Mercer, at Jacksonville and against No. 19 Marquette and had a season-high five points on two goals and three assists against Siena. 

DIAPER DANDY

• Freshman Cam Kostus was not shy in his collegiate debut firing a team-high 11 shots and finishing with a goal, assist and three ground balls in the win over Jacksonville. 

AKINS LEADS THE D

• Junior defender Alex Akins - a preseason All-MAAC selection by the coaches and Inside Lacrosse - has earned All-MAAC honors in his first two years, including First Team accolades last season. 
• A team captain, he was fifth on the squad with 11 caused turnovers and seventh picking up a career-high 23 ground balls in 2018. 
• He is a key cog on the Titan defense that produced  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.
• In his career, he has 23 caused turnovers and 38 ground balls. 

HORTON WITH THE CAUSE

• Senior Sam Horton is back as one of the stalwarts on the defensive side of the ball.
• He played in all 16 games with 15 starts last year and helped the defense tally 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 was second on the team with a career-high 19 caused turnovers and ranked fifth in the MAAC with 1.19 caused turnovers per game. 
• In his career, he has 25 caused turnovers. 

LEAVE IT TO THE LSM

• Sophomore Paul Manuszak had a fine rookie campaign and came back with a big debut in the season-opening victory over Jacksonville as he tallied a career-best three caused turnovers and six ground balls.
• He appeared in all 16 games as a rookie and had two goals, 17 ground balls and three caused turnovers. He scored his first collegiate goal on his first-ever shot against Air Force.
• His cousin, George Goeddeke, was an offensive lineman at Notre Dame in the late 60's and played five seasons in the NFL for the Denver Broncos. 

GOAL #1 FOR OLLIE NIGH

• Sophomore Ollie Nigh picked a great time for his first collegiate goal as his score late in the third gave the Titans a 7-4 lead over Jacksonville, a game the red, white and blue would eventually win 9-8.
• He played in seven games as a freshman and had attempted just one shot, while picking up two ground balls.
• Nigh made his collegiate debut at nationally-ranked Notre Dame last season. 

WE NEED MORE FIG

• Sophomore Ryan Figueiras made an impact last season in limited playing time and started 2019 taking advantage, scoring a goal against Jacksonville. 
• He saw action in just five games last year due to the Titans depth on offense, but he tallied five points on a goal and four assists.
• He started his first collegiate game against Bellarmine and had two assists, a ground ball and a caused turnover. He also found the back of the net in the come-from-behind win at Monmouth in the regular season. 

WEARING THE "C"

• 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".