DETROIT (3/5/2021) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team will open the 2021 season in a strange way as the Titans head to MAAC-rival Marist for a non-conference game on Saturday, March 6.

Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. and will feature live stats and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

For men's lacrosse, no fans will be permitted at any MAAC games at least in the month of March. The MAAC Committee on Athletic Administration (COAA) voted to not allow fans to any MAAC events through the month of March. The COAA will meet before the end of March to decide whether to extend this period or allow fans in some capacity. This goes for home and away games in the month of March. We will provide updates as they become available. 

The reason the game is a non-conference contest is based on the MAAC's schedule for 2021 to deal with the pandemic as the opening weekend will feature all the teams in the league playing each other in a non-league game. 

The Titans and the Red Foxes were picked to finish as the top two teams in the league with Marist at the coach's pick to win the conference. 

Detroit Mercy is 6-7 all-time against the Red Foxes, but 10 of the 13 games have been decided by three goals or less, including eight by one goal. The red, white and blue have won two in a row, claiming a come-from-behind 12-11 victory on the road in 2019 and a 14-10 triumph at home in 2018. The Titans are 1-5 all-time on the road in the series.

Season Preview 
The Titans come into the season with some high expectations as they were voted second in the MAAC's preseason poll registering 53 points and one first-place vote, trailing only Marist's 63 points and seven first-place tallies. Detroit Mercy returns 34 letter winners, eight starters, its entire defense and five of its top six scorers from a year ago as well as 15 players out of 17 that scored a goal in the five-game 2020 campaign. 

"We have been working our tails off," said head coach Chris Kolon '09 (MBA), who enters his seventh season as the head coach. "We got some great leadership as some of the older guys who were going to stick around and get their masters anyway and instead of being a graduate assistant or working in the athletic department, they get a chance to play. We are very fortunate that we get a great group of seniors."

Senior Brett Erskine leads the Titans offense as he topped the team with 18 points and eight assists, while placing second with 10 goals. He was already voted Preseason All-MAAC and currently has 85 points on 54 goals and 31 assists in his career, top 10 in school history in all three categories. 

Senior Ryan Figueiras and sophomore Ryan Birney each tallied eight goals and nine points in the shortened 2020 season, while juniors Cam Kostus and AJ Van Voorhis each posted four goals and four assists. 

"They are a great group, they are going to move the ball well and they are unselfish," said Kolon. "Coach Padilla has done a great job really working on the small things with them and if we stay disciplined and keep moving our feet and play for each other, I think offensively, we are going to have a lot of fun."

Starting the offense will be in good hands with graduate senior Alex Jarzembowski, who was chosen Preseason ALL-MAAC at faceoff specialist as the two-time All-MAAC performer is back after another great year. He won 60.3% in 2020 and that was after posting 60.0% in 2019. He owns every Titan faceoff record with a 57.1% career winning percentage and 541 total wins and is second in school history with 184 ground balls and 3.86 ground balls per game.

"He is a fighter and he is one of the best out there with some of the rule changes and he has adapted well," Kolon said. "I am really looking forward to seeing his body of work this year and if he can stay healthy and continue to work hard, he could have one of the best Titan seasons ever."

At defense, the Titans have three returning All-MAAC players in the reigning LSM of the Year senior Paul Manuszak and graduate seniors at defense in Alex Akins and Sam McClain. 

Manuszak has totaled 120 ground balls, 26 caused turnovers, nine goals and 13 points in his career. He led the team with 31 ground balls, while placing second with five caused turnovers in 2020 and that was after tallying career highs in every category with nine points, six goals, three assists, 17 caused turnovers and 72 ground balls in 2019.

Akins has been selected All-MAAC three times, including first-team in 2018, and is sixth in school history with 44 caused turnovers, while McClain was second-team All-MAAC in 2019 as he posted 14 caused turnovers -- third on the team -- and 30 ground balls -- tied for fifth on the squad. 

"If we are disciplined and we're nasty, we will play some good Detroit defense," said Kolon. "Sometimes we didn't do that last year, but the good news is that I think we filled some of the gaps that we had in the way we traditionally played defense. You can see from some of the scores, it is an offensive game and we are going to do the best we can. The guys have worked well together and we are looking to get back to the way we are use to playing."

In net is the 2019 MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and senior Logan Shamblin. He is third in school history with 383 saves and 10.94 saves per game. As a sophomore, he was third in the MAAC with a career-best 11.47 saves per game, while in MAAC play, he led the league in save percentage (61.6%) and with 14.0 saves per game, while ranking fourth with an 8.71 goals-against average.

In the midfield, graduate senior Matt Turner is back as a veteran presence that can play both ways, while senior Ollie Nigh returns as one of the best wing players as he tied for second on the team with 22 ground balls in 2020. Junior David Beacom and sophomore Kyle Loken played in all five games last year and are steady on offense and defense, while a few young players and transfers will also look to get into the mix. 

"That first faceoff is going to be very surreal and we are looking to get back at it" added Kolon.