DETROIT (1/30/2020) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team will start its 12th varsity season on Saturday as the Titans travel down south to battle the Jacksonville Dolphins.

Game time is set for Noon at D.B. Milne Field and will feature an audio broadcast but no live webstream.

Detroit Mercy will start the year looking for its third-straight winning season and fourth in the last five years as the Titans were picked to finish second in the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The team will feature 35 returning letter winners and eight starters from last year's 8-7 squad, that finished tied for second in the conference at 5-2 overall.

This will be the seventh career meeting between Jacksonville and Detroit Mercy, with each claiming three wins, including last season's thrilling 9-8 triumph at home. The teams used to be conference foes when Jacksonville was in the MAAC from 2011-13. 

The Titans will start the year with two road games, but will play just three more the rest of the way with nine home games on the docket. 

Season Preview
Offense
Detroit Mercy will bring back a number of key pieces and veterans on all over the field on offense, defense and special teams as 35 letter winners and eight starters are back.

The offense will miss departed senior Matthew Vangalen, the 2019 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year who broke his own school record with 55 on 19 goals and a career-high and school-record 32 assists. 

With that said, the Titans return their next 10 scorers from a year ago including senior Seth Mendell, who led the team with a career-best 37 goals, junior Brett Erskine, who had 22 goals and 32 points last season, and sophomore Cam Kostus who is coming off a 20-goal, 24-point rookie season.

Mendell was named to the MAAC All-preseason team and Kostus was a Second Team pick last year and Erskine has 44 goals and 67 points in his career.

Sophomore AJ Van Voorhis was a member of the MAAC All-Freshman Team as he had eight goals and 18 points and junior Ryan Figueiras posted nine goals and 11 points. Junior Ollie Nigh had six goals and seven points along with 37 ground balls and senior Matt Turner posted four goals and 10 points. 

Overall, 13 of the Titans' 16 goals scorers from a year ago all return to the red, white and blue. 

Defense
Detroit Mercy brings back two starting defensemen and their starting LSM and depth at defense and short-stick defensive midfield.

Three-time All-League at defense and senior team captain Alex Akins leads the backline along with senior defensemen and All-MAAC selection Sam McClain.

Akins led the team with a career-high 18 caused turnovers and was seventh with a career-best 27 ground balls last year, while McClain recorded 14 caused turnovers - third on the team - and 30 ground balls - tied for fifth on the squad.

Also back is the MAAC LSM of the Year junior Paul Manuszak, who finished with nine points, six goals, three assists, 17 caused turnovers and 72 ground balls last year. 

At SSM, senior Bo Pickens and sophomores David Beacom and Mitch Durst return as they look to replace departed seniors Brent Lubin and Mike Sforza.  

The defense will also have junior Mason Kamminga and sophomore Kelson Connors at defense and a few newcomers looking to earn some playing time.

Junior Logan Shamblin is back in net as the reigning MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and preseason All-Conference selection looks to pick up where he left off from an outstanding sophomore campaign, that saw him finish third in the MAAC with a career-best 11.47 saves per game, fifth in school history. His 172 saves was also a career-best and fifth in the record books, and he also tallied a .512 save percentage and an 11.93 goals against mark along with six caused turnovers and 32 ground balls, fifth on the squad. 

Faceoffs
Senior Alex Jarzembowski already has his name on top of the Titan record book in every faceoff category and he is back to lead the team once again in his area of expertise.

He enters his senior season, holding a career winning percentage of .565 tallying 450 victories - both first in Titan history - and has won double-digit face-offs in 27 career games. The two-time All-MAAC Second Team face-off specialists is coming off a school-record with 213 wins and a 60.0 winning percentage, good for second in the MAAC and 18th in Division I, and his 82 ground balls led the Titans and was second in the conference and 29th in Division I as well as third in school history.