SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (4/27/2019) -- Freshman Cam Kostus recorded his second hat trick of the season and sophomore Ollie Nigh scored twice, but a big fourth quarter by the Utes stopped any chance of a comeback as the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team dropped a 16-10 non-conference contest on the road on Saturday.

The game was the regular season finale for the red, white and blue, who will enter the MAAC Championships as the #3 seed at 8-6 overall and 5-2 in the conference and will battle second-seeded Quinnipiac in the semifinals. 

Senior Matthew Vangalen broke his own school record for most points in a season as his four assists give him 55 points on the year, eclipsing the 51-point mark he posted in 2018.  

Nigh's two goals were a career high and he also added two ground balls. Sophomore Brett Erskine tallied two goals and an assist and junior Seth Mendell, sophomore Ryan Figueiras and freshman AJ Van Voorhis each had a marker. 

Junior Alex Jarzembowski was 13-of-26 in faceoffs with a game-high nine ground balls and sophomore Logan Shamblin made 11 saves in net. 

The Titans led 1-0 and 2-1 in the first when Utah (5-10) scored five in a row to open a 6-2 advantage and then led 9-5 at the break. Detroit Mercy fought back with three-straight markers in the third to cut it to 9-8, but Utah scored a goal with four seconds remaining and then stretched its lead to 13-8 with 8:04 left in the game. 

Sophomore Paul Manuszak registered a pair of caused turnovers. Van Voorhis added an assist and two ground balls and junior Matt Turner was credited with an assist.

The MAAC Championships will get underway on Thursday, May 2, at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY, with the Titans and Bobcats squaring off at 4 p.m., with top-seeded Marist and fourth-seeded Canisius at 7 p.m. 

First Quarter:

• Jarzembowski won the opening faceoff and after a Utah turnover, Vangalen fed Erskine for a goal just three minutes in
• Shamblin made two saves before Utah tied it at 1-1
• Right after that goal, Jarzembowski won another and this time Vangalen found Van Voorhis for the score to make it 2-1 with 8:29 left
• The Titans trailed 6-2 late in the first when Van Voorhis fed Kostus and he fired in his first with 18 seconds on the clock

Second Quarter:

• Off another faceoff win by Jarzembowski, the Titans scored as Erskine set up Mendell's lone goal of the contest to make it 6-4 at the 13:40 mark
• A little more than a minute later, the Titans got the ball back and Vangalen located Kostus and he beat the keeper to pull the team within one
• Despite four more saves by Shamblin in the last eight minutes, Utah took a 9-5 lead at the break

Third Quarter:

• Utah got off a bevy of shots early - all wide or high - and then Shamblin came up with a save to keep the Utes off the board
• Following a penalty, Turner had the pass to Kostus and he scored on the extra-man attack to make it a 9-6 game with 9:20 on the clock
• Jarzembowski won the next faceoff and after Manuszak picked up the ground ball, Vangalen would find Erskine and he laced one in to get the team within two at 9-7
• Later on, a save by Shamblin would lead to a goal by Nigh and the red, white and blue trailed by just one, 9-8, with 2:17 remaining
• Despite a save by Shamblin, Utah was able to score with just four seconds on the clock

Fourth Quarter:

• Utah scored a goal early in the fourth and then added two more to open a 13-8 advantage with 8:04 left
• The Titans answered immediately off a faceoff win as Jarzembowski's faceoff win led to a goal by Nigh at 7:53
• Utah then scored three in a row before Figueiras notched his second with 1:14 on the scoreboard

Game Notes:

• Vangalen now has 55 points on 36 assists and 19 goals as he also owns the single-season mark for helpers
• Kostus also had three goals at Marquette
• Kostus now has seven man-up goals on the year, tied for first on the team and in the MAAC with Mendell
• Mendell now has 33 goals o the year, tied for the fourth most in school history
• Jarzembowski now has 78 ground balls on the year, third in school history and five shy of second place and former teammate Charlie Hayes
• Figueiras netted two goals for the third time this year
• Van Voorhis now has five, three-point games on the year