Over the next several weeks, the University of Detroit Mercy Department of Athletics will be releasing its All-Decade Teams of the 2010s. For a full schedule of the teams set to be released, click here.

DETROIT (5/15/2020) -- The University of Detroit Mercy Department of Athletics is unveiling its All-Decade Teams of the 2010s, compiling the best student-athletes across the past 10 seasons (2010-19) into a First and Second Team in each intercollegiate sport. Next up is another Detroit Mercy athletic program that has seen a great deal of success in its first decade-plus as a program in men's lacrosse, which captured a MAAC title in 2013, advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

Detroit Mercy qualified for the MAAC Tournament eight times in the decade and finished either second or tied-for-second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in five of the 10 years, including reaching three MAAC title games (2011, 2013, 2018). The red, white and blue won the MAAC championship in 2013 for its first in school history with an 11-10 victory over Siena in overtime. The Titans then nearly upset Notre Dame in its first-ever NCAA Tournament game, holding a 7-3 lead before falling to the Fighting Irish.

On 10 occasions, the Titans earned major awards from the MAAC during the decade with Jordan Houtby earning the MAAC Long-Stick Midfielder (LSM) honor in three consecutive years (2011-13). Paul Manuszak made it a fourth time for a Titan receiving the honor in the decade when he earned the honor in 2019. Three more Titans were voted MAAC Rookie of the Year -- Shayne Adams (2011), Jason Weber (2014) and Mark Anstead (2015). Weber was also the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and Logan Shamblin earned the honor in 2019. Matthew Vangalen was also the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2019 for the Titans.

Titans earned All-Conference accolades 42 times during the decade (2010-19), with 13 of those First Team laurels. Shayne Adams and Paul Bitetti were both three-time First Team All-League during the decade with Adams earning All-Conference accolades in all four years overall. Alex Akins, Mike Birney, Bitetti, Jamie Hebden, Vangalen and Weber were all three-time All-MAAC during the 10 years, as well. Additionally, 16 Titans were named to the MAAC All-Rookie Team, while 19 times a Titan was named MAAC All-Tournament, including AJ Levell, who was selected three times (2011-13).

Three Titans were USILA Scholar All-American during the decade in Jordan Houtby (2013), Paul Bitetti (2016) and Matthew Vangalen (2019). Vangalen was also voted as a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2019. Troy Dennis was also a finalist for the men's lacrosse Senior Class Award during the 2014 season. Houtby and Dennis both represented Detroit Mercy in the USILA North-South All-Star game in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

The Titans recorded their first winning campaign with a then school-record eight wins (8-6) in 2015, before going 9-7 in 2018 reaching their third MAAC championship game and nearly winning a second title, falling to Canisius in overtime. The Titans then had their second-straight winning campaign and third overall in the decade in 2019, finishing with a mark of 8-7.

The Titans won both of their MAAC Championship games by one goal in 2013 with Mike Birney scoring the game-winning goals in both. He scored with 1:25 left to top No. 1 Marist, 7-6, in the semifinals and then 2:00 into overtime in the title game as the Titans won the MAAC Championship over Siena. Birney was named the MAAC Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

After the first decade-plus of Titan men's lacrosse -- Shayne Adams leads in goals (147) and points (179), Matthew Vangalen in assists (77), Jordan Houtby in total caused turnovers (158) and ground balls (289), Alex Jarzembowski in face-off win percentage (57.1) and goalie Jason Weber in total saves (690), save percentage (56.8) and goals-against average (10.07). Jamie Hebden was the leader in starts for a field player with 59 during the decade.

All-League honors, award winners, standout and record-breaking performances, academic achievements and accolades as well as submissions from fans were all considered for each of the Detroit Mercy All-Decade Teams of the 2010s.

Detroit Mercy Men's Lacrosse All-Decade Team of 2010s
First Team
Take a full look at our other All-Decade Teams:
April 13 -- Women's Soccer
April 15 -- Men's Soccer