DETROIT (2/17/2022) -- The tough schedule for the Titans will continue on Saturday as the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team will head to South Bend, Indiana, to face the #4/4 Notre Dame.
Faceoff is set for 7:00 p.m. inside Loftus Sports Center and will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra. Live Stats will also be available.
Detroit Mercy is 0-2 after road losses to a pair of Big Ten teams in Ohio State and Michigan, while this will be the season opener for Notre Dame.
The Titans are 0-4 all-time against Notre Dame with all four match-ups all 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. Notre Dame then won 14-5 in 2016, 10-7 in 2018 - when the red, white and blue led 6-4 halfway through the third - and 19-6 in 2019, all indoors.
Detroit Mercy is also looking for its first-ever win against a nationally-ranked opponent as the Titans are 0-19 all-time after falling to #20/RV Michigan last week.
Last week, redshirt freshman
Jakob Hemme made a Titan record-tying 28 saves at Michigan and has 41 saves and a 51.2 save percentage in his first two games.
Senior
Brett Erskine and junior
Luke Majick each have three goals to lead the team, while graduate senior
Paul Manuszak tops the team with four caused turnovers and 12 ground balls.
Following the game, the Titans will have a week off before traveling to Marquette on March 5.
Game Nuggets
- The Titans are in their first season as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference after spending 12 seasons in the MAAC from 2010-2021, with their first year as an independent in 2009
- The four-straight true road games are the most in a row since the Titans played five-straight in 2012, while the four road games to start the season is tied for the longest span in school history with the four in a row in 2011
- Detroit Mercy is 0-7 all-time against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference with the 0-4 mark against Notre Dame, 0-2 against North Carolina and 0-1 versus Maryland
- The two-time MAAC LSM of the Year, Manuszak has 168 career ground balls, tied for fourth in school history with Jamie Hebden (2010-13) and two shy of third place and Brandon Davenport (2010-13), and his 3.73 ground balls per game is third in the school record book
- Manuszak's 43 caused turnovers are seventh in school history, nine in back of sixth place
- Brett Erskine has 113 career points for third in school history, 33 away from third place, while his 74 goals is fifth, two in back of former teammate Matthew Vangalen (2017-19) for fourth and five behind another former teammate Seth Mendell (2017-20)
- Erskine's 2.63 points per game in fourth in school history and his 1.72 goals per game is third
- Freshman Aidan Bishop has taken seven shots with five on net (.714 SOG%) in two games and tallied his first collegiate points on a goal and an assist last week at Michigan
- Junior Ryan Birney had two older brothers who played for the Titans and were All-MAAC players in Mike and Sean as well as an older sister who played on the women's team and was All-ASUN in Kylie
- The Titans have had a long history of family connections on the team in the Birney's, Masterson's, Case's and have another pair of brothers on this year's squad in junior Kyle Loken and freshman Caden Loken and senior Tyler Hart and freshman Billy Hart
- Another family connection is senior Zach Kennedy as his grandfather played basketball and football for the Titans, while his dad played basketball for the red, white and blue
