BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (3/12/2022) -- Senior Tyler Hart came off the bench to spark the Titans and made seven saves as the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team posted its biggest comeback in school history with a 16-11 victory over VMI on Saturday at Seaholm High School. 

The previous comebacks the Titans have had never saw them climb out of a deficit of six or more with their last biggest comeback at Jacksonville in 2020 when the team erased an early 5-0 deficit to win 15-14. 

Graduate senior Brett Erskine tied his career-high with six goals - one shy of tying the school record - and posted a career-best seven points with five ground balls, while junior Ryan Birney recorded a career-high four goals. Junior Luke Majick tallied two goals and two assists and graduate senior Keegan Stenstrom had a career-best three points on his first collegiate marker and two assists.

Sophomore Noah Martin had three caused turnovers and three ground balls and graduate senior Paul Manuszak picked eight ground balls. Sophomore Connor Baratta had a career day and was dominant all day winning 20-of-29 faceoffs with a team-high 11 ground balls. 

The Titans saw VMI (2-4) score the first two goals in the first five minutes and then went up 9-1 with just four minutes left in the first.

That is when Hart came in the game and the Titan defense clamped down allowing just 22 shots the rest of the way as Hart made seven stops giving up just two scores in the final 49 minutes. He registered three saves in the second and four in the fourth, including two one-on-one opportunities that he shunned away from the Keydets. 

Birney started the comeback with back-to-back unassisted goals late in the first before Erskine scored his second to cut the deficit to 9-4 after one. Majick found sophomore Will Edell for a score early in the second and then Majick beat the goalie to make it a 9-6 game with 12:23 left in the period. 

The Titans (1-4) trailed 11-7 late in the second when they notched one more goal with graduate senior Ryan Figueiras feeding Erskine for his hat trick and it was 11-8 at the break and that started a 9-0 run to end the contest. 

In the third, Erskine and Birney had the lone goals as the Titans trailed by just one, 11-10. Erskine would get the equalizer just 30 seconds into the fourth and then Stenstrom found freshman Aidan Bishop who ripped a shot past the goalie for a 12-11 lead with 10:22 left.

Stenstrom wasn't done as he would later find Erskine for a goal for his second assist and then took a pass from Majick and tickled the twine for his first career marker for a 15-11 lead with just 3:28 on the clock. Birney would tack on one more just two minutes later.

The Titans outshot VMI, 50-35, and won the battle of ground balls 40-27.  Detroit Mercy was 13-of-17 on clears and forced 20 Keydets' miscues with seven of those caused by the red, white and blue.

Detroit Mercy will now have an extra week off before traveling to face High Point on March 26. 

Game Notes:

• The Titans and VMI were conference rivals for four seasons in the MAAC from 2010-2013 as the red, white and blue now lead the overall series, 5-1, including 4-0 at home
• The most famous comeback in school history was the five-goal comeback against Siena in the 2013 MAAC Championship when the Titans overcame an 8-3 margin in the second and 9-4 contest in the third
• The Titans' 50 shots are tied for sixth in school history
• Hart had seen action in just one career game making two saves at Ohio State in 2020
• Manuszak came into the game 35th in Division I with 5.75 ground balls per game and now has 187 career ground balls
• Erskine moved past former teammates Matthew Vangalen and Seth Mendell to third in school history with 81 goals, just one behind Alex Maini for second
• Erskine now has 123 career points for fourth in school history, 23 away from third place
• Baratta's 11 ground balls are tied for the third most in school history, while the 20 faceoff wins are fifth in the record books
• Birney had three goals twice against St. Bonaventure last year and once against Robert Morris at home as a freshman