Men's Lacrosse 04.23.25

Men's Lacrosse Prepares For Cleveland State Eyeing A Spot In The Postseason

Men's Lacrosse 04.23.25

Men's Lacrosse Prepares For Cleveland State Eyeing A Spot In The Postseason

The Titans will look to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

DETROIT (4/24/2025) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team has battled back to put itself in position for the postseason, however, there is still work to be done as the Titans head to Cleveland State on Saturday.

Game time is set for 6:00 p.m., at Krenzler Field and will be broadcast on NEC Front Row.

The Titans enter the game at 4-6 overall and 3-3 in the NEC, while Cleveland State is 4-9, 2-4 in league play, but both teams are still alive for the playoffs.

It all started down 9-4 in the fourth period with 11:40 left at VMI, when the Titans began their three-game winning streak by scoring six straight goals and winning in overtime, 10-9. Since then, UDM has downed Wagner, 15-11, and is coming off a 14-13 victory over Mercyhurst for its longest winning streak since posting three in a row in 2019. A fourth straight win would be the second-longest win streak in school history, behind the five in a row in 2018.

A win for the red, white and blue will have UDM clinch the No. 4 seed and play either Robert Morris or LeMoyne in the NEC Championship semifinals.

Detroit Mercy still has an outside shot to make the playoffs even with a loss, as long as VMI loses at home to LIU. In that scenario, a three-way tie at 3-4 would exist between VMI, Cleveland State, and Detroit Mercy, and it would come down to the fewest goals allowed in the trio since the teams are all 1-1 against each other.

At the moment, VMI allowed 19 goals in its games against the Vikings and Titans. Essentially, any one goal loss by UDM - as long as the score does not exceed 10-9 - would have UDM in. A one goal loss with the score exceeding 10-9 and VMI will qualify for the postseason. Meanwhile, Cleveland State needs to win and hold UDM to seven goals or less, coupled with a VMI loss, to get in.

The NEC Championships start on Thursday, May 1, and the top seed will be determined by the victor of the LeMoyne-Robert Morris match-up on Saturday.

VS. CLEVELAND STATE

Cleveland State leads the all-time series, 4-2, and the Titans have never won in Cleveland, dropping all three previous trips there.
Last season, it came down to the same scenario between these two teams for a playoff spot, with UDM needing a win to make the ASUN Tournament, but the Vikings took the game 13-8 to earn the playoff spot.

All-Time Series
Apr. 29, 2017 @ Cleveland, OH - L, 13-6
Apr. 28, 2018 @ Detroit, MI - W, 12-6
Apr. 24, 2019 @ Cleveland, OH - L, 11-9
Apr. 23, 2022 @ Birmingham, MI - W, 13-12
Apr. 29, 2023 @ Cleveland, OH - L, 14-12
Apr. 27, 2024 @ Detroit, MI - L, 13-8

NO IT'S MINE

Detroit Mercy comes into the contest leading the NEC and 17th in the nation with 9.3 caused turnovers per game.
The Titans have five games on the year with double-digit takeaways and came away with a season-high 15 against Wagner. They also had 12 at Hampton, 11 at Ohio State and at Bellarmine, and 10 last week at VMI.

GUARDING THE NET

Senior Ryan Richters has been a mainstay in net for the Titans since he arrived on campus last year.
He is second in the NEC and 15th in the nation with 12.4 saves per game and fourth in the league with a .508 save percentage.
Richters stands fourth in school history with 311 saves and has recorded double-digit stops in 20 of the 23 games he has played in.
He was stellar in helping the Titans post their first NEC victory with 13 saves at VMI, which included eight saves in the second half, a key one in overtime and allowing just two goals in the final 39 minutes of play.
Richters had a career-high 21 saves at LIU, tied for the fourth most in school history, and 13 saves versus Robert Morris.
He started the season stopping 16 shots with three ground balls and a caused turnover at Ohio State. He had 13 saves, three GBs, and a takeaway at Marquette, 13 saves with a career-high three caused turnovers at Bellarmine and 10 saves, allowing a career-low five goals, at Hampton.
Last season, he tallied double-digit saves in all 13 games, posting 187 total saves, tied for 17th in the country, and was second in the school record book, just 15 shy of the single-season mark.

WHAT'S THAT NOISE

Redshirt freshman Marcus Thundercloud has been named the NEC Rookie of the Week three times this season, including this past week, after scoring four goals against Mercyhurst.
He earned the accolade in back-to-back weeks after tallying three goals and an assist at VMI - with the game-winner in overtime - and a season-high four goals against Le Moyne.
He is the first Titan freshman honored with an award since Will Edell was the MAAC Rookie of the Week on Mar. 31, 2021, and the first Titan to receive a conference weekly award since Ryan Birney was the ASUN Player of the Week on Feb. 7, 2023.
He is second on the team with 17 goals and 18 points and ranks fifth in the NEC with 2.43 goals per game. He has notched 15 of his 17 goals in conference action, tied for first with 3.00 goals per contest.
Thundercloud missed last year with a knee injury.

I WANT THE BALL

Junior Kyle Grant started the year tallying a career-high six caused turnovers and seven ground balls in the season opener at Ohio State.
The six caused turnovers are tied for second in school history, behind the seven Jamie Hebden had against VMI in 2013.
The last Titan to have six caused turnovers in a game was current head coach Charlie Hayes, who had six against Bellarmine in 2018.
He was named a Prime Time performer by the NEC and was also named to the USILA Lacrosse Team of the Week for that effort at OSU.
Last week, he scored his first goal on his first collegiate shot against Mercyhurst, while the week before, he had three caused turnovers and three ground balls against Wagner. He led a tough Titan defense in the 10-9 overtime win at VMI, ending with four caused turnovers and five ground balls. Three of those takeaways were in the second half.
Grant played in all 13 games last season and tallied five caused turnovers and 19 GBs, but has 21 takeaways and 34 ground balls this season.
He is currently leading the NEC and sixth in DI at 2.10 caused turnovers per game and eighth in the NEC and 81st in DI with 3.30 GB's per game.

CHASING YOU DOWN

Senior Chase Mahabir has continued to raise his offensive game and was just named the NEC Player of the Week for the second straight week after posting five goals - including the game-winner with 47 seconds left against Mercyhurst.
His five-goal outburst also saw him tally the last three goals of the game, one with the man down.
The week before against Wagner, he scored a career-high six goals - tied for the second most in school history - with an assist en route to being named the NEC Player of the Week.
He has seven career hat tricks and four this season, following three goals and an assist at Hampton and LIU.
At VMI, he scored a goal - which tied the game at 9-9 with a minute left - and added two helpers.
He leads the team with 19 goals, eight assists, and 27 points. He is ninth in the NEC with 1.90 goals per game and ninth at 2.70 points per game.
In league play, his 16 goals and 2.67 goals per game are tied for second.

HAVE YOURSELF A DAY

Freshman Canton Lanham came into the game at Hampton just 10-of-35 in faceoffs in the first three games, but he was a force against the Pirates, going 12-of-18 with four GB's.
Since that start, he has been brilliant, winning 80-of-137 (58.3%) in the last seven games.
He is coming off a season-best 19-of-27 effort with a season-high 11 ground balls against Mercyhurst - the most wins and GB's by a freshman in school history and tied for the sixth most victories in the record book, while the 11 ground balls are tied for the third most by a Titan.
He was 15-of-24 with five ground balls in the win over Wagner, securing 10-of-15 in the second half and 5-of-6 in the final period.
At LIU, he was 12-of-20 with five ground balls, won 5-of-12 against Le Moyne, and registered a 12-of-20 record and five GB's at VMI.
Lanham is third in the NEC winning 52.3% and seventh at 3.40 GB's per game.

KING ME

Senior Aidan Bishop has scored a goal in three straight games and has two goals in back-to-back contests after netting a pair against Mercyhurst.
The week before, he recorded a season-high three points on two goals and an assist against Wagner after a goal and an assist at VMI.
He is third on the team with 10 goals, five assists and 15 points.
Bishop was the leading returning scorer after recording a career-high 26 points, second with a career-best 21 goals, and picking up a career-high 27 ground balls, third on the team, last season.
In his career, he has now played in 47 games with 44 starts and has 49 goals, 16 assists, 69 GB's, and 12 caused turnovers.

PARKING IT HERE

Freshman Andrew Parker did not play in the season opener at Ohio State, but on his first-ever shot at Marquette, he beat the keeper for his first collegiate goal.
He has now scored a goal in six of his nine games after tallying his first career hat trick with three goals and an assist versus Wagner.
Parker had a goal and two ground balls against Robert Morris and another marker against Le Moyne and at VMI.

ZACH ATTACK

Freshman Zach Gleason had a fine collegiate debut, finding the back of the net twice at Ohio State.
He had a team-high five shots, with four on net, all in front of friends and family, as he was an All-American as a senior at Loveland in Ohio.
He had another multi-goal effort with a pair of markers at Hampton and was back in the scoring column with a goal against Wagner.
In the win over Mercyhurst, he registered a goal and an assist.

MR. MARSHALL TO YOU

Senior Will Marshall has had a good start to the season, with a takeaway and three ground balls at Ohio State.
He then had two more CT's and a GB at Marquette and a caused turnover and career-high four ground balls at Bellarmine.
He scored his first goal of the season at VMI and registered a caused turnover and two ground balls versus Wagner.
Last year, Marshall had two caused turnovers and three ground balls at #16/14 Rutgers, recorded a goal, caused turnover and ground ball at Utah, and posted a career-high three caused turnovers with three GB's and a goal against Queens
He has played in 45 career games and has five goals, 16 caused turnovers and 46 ground balls.

OUR GREEN WALL

Freshman Ian Greenwell has started nine of the 10 games as a rookie and has recorded a ground ball in nine and a caused turnover in seven of them.
He had his best game with three caused turnovers and six ground balls at VMI and came back with two takeaways and four GB's against Wagner.
Greenwell is now second on the team with 11 caused turnovers and fourth with 24 ground balls and ranks sixth in the NEC with 1.11 caused turnovers.
In his collegiate debut at Ohio State, he had three ground balls. He posted a takeaway and three GB's against Robert Morris and a caused turnover and two ground balls versus Le Moyne.

THICK SKIN

Senior Harold Skinner moved into the starting line-up at Hampton and finished with a goal, an assist, a caused turnover, and two ground balls.
He came back with a goal against Robert Morris, a career-high four points on two goals and two assists at LIU, and found the back of the net once at VMI.
Against Wagner, he recorded a pair of assists and a takeaway and had a goal and an assist versus Mercyhurst.
Skinner has battled some injuries, limiting him to 24 games, where he has 10 goals and seven assists.

THAT'S RIGHT I SAID OWEN

Senior Eoghan Mullett - pronounced Owen - has six games on the season with a caused turnover and six picking up a ground ball.
He just tied his season high with two caused turnovers against Mercyhurst. Mullett tallied two takeaways and two ground balls at LIU, collected three ground balls against Robert Morris, and posted a caused turnover at Bellarmine.
Mullett was third on the team with eight caused turnovers and seventh with 21 ground balls last season.
He scored his first collegiate goal at #16/14 Rutgers, where he also had three ground balls and a caused turnover and had a takeaway and three GB's at Ohio State. He also posted a career-best three caused turnovers with a ground ball against Mercer.

WE NEED MOORE

Sophomore Gavin Moore tallied a career-high three caused turnovers and scored his first collegiate goal against Wagner.
He finished with two CT's against Le Moyne and one at LIU and at VMI.
He played in all 13 games as a rookie, finishing with a caused turnover and three ground balls.

I WILL TAKE A HENIGE

Senior Sean Henige now has a caused turnover in three straight games after posting two caused turnovers and two ground balls against Mercyhurst.
The week before, he had a takeaway and two ground balls against Wagner.
Henige scooped up a season-high five GB's at LIU and had a caused turnover and ground ball at VMI.
At Marquette, he tallied a caused turnover and three ground balls and had two GB's and two takeaways at Bellarmine.
Last season, he appeared in all 13 games with 12 starts last year, leading the team with 16 caused turnovers and finishing fourth with 26 ground balls.
He tallied three caused turnovers and a career-high seven ground balls against VMI and tied his career-high with three takeaways and two ground balls at Ohio State.
In his three years, he has started 33 of the team's 35 games and has 33 caused turnovers and 61 ground balls.

SHOW ME SOME LOVE

Senior Billy Hart is fourth in school history with 198 faceoff wins and ninth at winning 41.3%.
Last season, he led the team with a career-best 44 ground balls and 77 faceoff wins, as his 3.67 ground balls per game was good for sixth in the Atlantic Sun.
He ended the year with one of the best days in school history, going a career-best 17-of-24, tied for the 10th most wins, with a career-high nine ground balls against Cleveland State.

NOLAN'S OUR MAN

Senior Nolan Graalman got into the scoring column with a goal and an assist at Bellarmine and added another at LIU and at VMI.
In his career, he has played in 41 games and has 32 goals and 36 points, with 15 goals and 16 points as a sophomore.

HARD WORK PAYS OFF

Senior Caden Loken did not see any action in his first three seasons, but after making his collegiate debut at Ohio State, he scored his first two goals at Marquette.
Loken's older brother, Kyle, was a five-year letterwinner from 2020-24 and a three-time captain as a SSDM.

ACADEMIC PRIDE

Detroit Mercy saw 36 men's lacrosse student-athletes earn their way onto the 2024 Athletic Director's Honor Roll for having at least a 3.0 GPA.
In addition, the team posted a 3.15 GPA in the first semester, with 33 Titans having a 3.0, 20 with at least a 3.5, and four achieving a perfect 4.0.

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