DETROIT (2/12/2026) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team will play its third straight road game to open the season as the Titans make the trip to Virginia to battle the Pirates of Hampton on Saturday.

Game time is set for Noon at Armstrong Stadium and will be televised live on FLO Sports.

It is the second-straight season that UDM will make the trip to the East Coast, as the red, white and blue downed Hampton, 11-5, in the school's first-ever meeting.

Detroit Mercy has started the year with some fierce competition, facing a pair of ranked Big Ten teams in #10 Ohio State and #18 Michigan. The Titans are coming off an 11-7 setback against the Wolverines, but they did make a comeback, cutting an 8-1 deficit down to just three in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Andrew Parker led the offense with three goals, while senior Kyle Grant had four caused turnovers and three ground balls.

Hampton is 0-2 on the year, falling at Mercer, 18-9, and to NJIT, 22-8.

After the game, UDM will return home for a pair of games, hosting Bellarmine at Detroit Country Day on Feb. 21 and Marquette on campus on Feb. 23.

ALL-TIME SERIES

• This is the second year in a row that these two teams will meet, as Detroit Mercy took the first-ever contest on the road, 11-5, last season.
• The win was the first for head coach Charlie Hayes at his alma mater. 

AGAINST THE CAA

• Detroit Mercy is 7-3 all-time against current CAA members, but that is due to a 6-3 record against former MAAC rival Monmouth.

LAST SEASON'S RECAP

• Chase Mahabir tallied three goals, and the Titans allowed their fewest goals in four seasons as Detroit Mercy downed Hampton, 11-5.
• Mahabir had three goals and an assist for his fourth career hat trick and also came up with two caused turnovers. Aidan Bishop and Zach Gleason had two goals, and Harold Skinner recorded a goal and an assist.
• Kyle Grant had two caused turnovers and a team-high five ground balls, and freshman Canton Lanham won 14-of-20 faceoffs with four GBs. 
• Ian Greenwell and Gavin Moore finished with two caused turnovers and two ground balls, and Skinner registered a caused turnover and two ground balls.
• The Titans started the game with four straight markers and then went on a 3-0 run in the third to seal the win.
• UDM outshot Hampton, 49-30, and owned a 28-18 advantage on ground balls. 

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS

• Detroit Mercy is projected to head back to the postseason as the NEC released its annual Coaches Poll.
• The Titans were selected fourth behind LeMoyne, LIU, and Robert Morris, with the Sharks (2) and Colonials (6) earning the most first-place votes. VMI, Cleveland State, Mercyhurst, and Wagner round out the poll.
• The top four teams will qualify for the NEC Championship, with the regular-season winner hosting the event, and the victor will earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

HONOR THY CAPTAIN

• For the first time in school history, only one player will don the capital "C" as senior Kyle Grant was named the 2026 team captain.
• "As we head into the new season, KG will lead the way as our sole team captain," said head coach Charlie Hayes '18. "Kyle embodies what it means to be a leader and a captain within our program. From the day Kyle arrived on campus, he has embraced the process of getting better. He sets the standard for our program, and his growth as a player and leader makes him an easy choice to lead our team."
• In addition, there will be one gameday captain each week who will join Grant at the coin toss and officials meeting. That weekly gameday captain will be selected based on their work ethic, leadership, and performance in practice during that week.

THUNDER STRIKES

• Redshirt sophomore Marcus Thundercloud - who has scored a goal in each of the first two games - is coming off an outstanding season that saw him earn NEC Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-NEC honors.
• He was the first Titan freshman to earn a Rookie of the Year accolade since 2015. 
• Despite missing three games with a hand injury, he was second on the team with 22 goals - 10th in the NEC - and tied for second with 24 points. His 2.20 goals per game were sixth in the conference and 57th in DI.
• Thundercloud scored a goal in eight of his 10 games, with multi-goal games in seven contests and four hat tricks. Also, 19 of his 22 goals were in conference action.
• He had his first two collegiate goals at Marquette and posted a season-high four goals with two ground balls against Le Moyne. He also tallied three goals and an assist at VMI, scoring the game-winner in overtime, and recorded four goals against Mercyhurst and a season-high five points on four goals and an assist, and a season-best four ground balls and a caused turnover at Cleveland State.
• Thundercloud missed his freshman year with a knee injury. 

GET BY ME

• Senior Kyle Grant is coming off a great year, ending with a selection to the NEC First Team All-NEC and All-Tournament Team.
• At #10 Ohio State, he had four ground balls, two caused turnovers, and his second career goal, and added four more takeaways and three GB's at #18 Michigan. 
• He currently ranks eighth in school history with 43 caused turnovers and also has 75 career ground balls. 
• Last season, he led the team with 26 caused turnovers - eighth in school history and 15th in DI - and 44 ground balls. He topped the NEC and was fifth in the nation with 2.00 caused turnovers per game, and was seventh in the league and 78th in DI with 3.38 ground balls per game. 
• Grant caused turnover in 10 of the 13 games, including eight with two or more, and corralled at least three ground balls in nine games.
• He started the year with a career-high six caused turnovers and seven ground balls at Ohio State, tied for the third most in the nation on the year and the second most in school history. 
• He finished with four takeaways and five ground balls at VMI, including a key caused turnover in overtime to help the Titans win. He also had three caused turnovers and six ground balls in the NEC semifinals win at Le Moyne. 

ALL WELL WITH GREEN

• Sophomore Ian Greenwell had a standout freshman campaign, earning NEC All-Rookie Team honors. 
• He is off to a solid start with three ground balls at #10 Ohio State and two ground balls and two caused turnovers at #18 Michigan.
• He saw action in all 13 games, with 12 starts, and was second on the team with 15 caused turnovers - eighth in the NEC - and fourth with 34 ground balls. 
• Greenwell recorded a ground ball in 12 games, with at least three in six, and a caused turnover in nine games, with four multi-takeaway games.
• He tallied a season-high three caused turnovers and a season-best six ground balls at VMI and registered two caused turnovers and two ground balls in the NEC semifinals at Le Moyne.

MY MAN PARKER

• Sophomore Andrew Parker started the year with a goal at #10 Ohio State, and added his second career hat trick with three goals at #18 Michigan. 
• He has now scored a goal in 11 of his 14 career games. 
• Last season, he did not play in the season opener at Ohio State, but once he got his chance, he really shined, earning NEC All-Rookie Team and NEC All-Tournament Team honors.
• He finished the year fourth on the team with 22 points and 14 goals and third with eight assists, to go along with four caused turnovers and 18 ground balls.
• Parker scored a goal on his first collegiate shot, while also recording a ground ball and a caused turnover at Marquette. 
• He posted his first career hat trick with three goals and an assist versus Wagner and tallied a season-high five points on two goals and a season-best three assists with three ground balls at Cleveland State.
• In the postseason, he found the back of the net twice in the NEC semifinals at Le Moyne and had four points on two goals and two assists, along with a ground ball, in the NEC Championship versus Robert Morris.

PEEGE LEAVES HIS MARK

• Freshman PJ O'Hanlon was held scoreless in the season opener, but the rookie made his presence known at #18 Michigan, scoring his first two career goals.
• As a prep, he totaled 242 career points on 202 goals and 42 assists, leaving his high school fourth all-time in points and second in goals.

STARTING THE OFFENSE

• Sophomore Canton Lanham continued to improve throughout his freshman year, which ended with a selection to the NEC All-Rookie Team.
• At #18 Michigan, he won 8-of-18 faceoffs and picked up three ground balls. 
• He is now seventh in school history with 120 faceoff wins. 
• Lanham ended his rookie year fourth in the NEC with a .493 winning percentage (109-of-221), as his 109 faceoff wins were the second most by a freshman and the fourth most in school history.
• He also tied for second on the team with 40 ground balls and tied for ninth in the NEC with 3.08 ground balls per game.
• After starting the year, 10-of-35, but won 99-of-186 (53.2%) in the last 10 games. 
• Lanham won 15-of-24 with five ground balls versus Wagner and claimed a season-best 19-of-27 with a season-high 11 ground balls against Mercyhurst - the most wins and ground balls by a freshman in school history and tied for the sixth most victories in the record book, while the 11 GB's were tied for the third most by a Titan.

SHORT STICK BIG DEFENSE

• Senior Jackson Ewald's stat sheet might seem light, but the short-stick midfielder is one of the best in the business and was named Second Team All-NEC last year. 
• He started the year with a takeaway at Ohio State and had a ground ball at Michigan.
• Learning from the best short-stick defensive midfielder in school history in head coach Charlie Hayes, Ewald posted a career-high six caused turnovers and 16 ground balls. 
• Ewald recorded a career-best two caused turnovers and a career-high three ground balls in the NEC Championship against Robert Morris.

SHOWING OUR SKIN

• Graduate senior Harold Skinner is back to give the Titans more experience at attack and in the midfield.
• He had four ground balls at Ohio State and posted three points on a goal and two assists at Michigan. 
• Last season, he was fifth on the team with a career-best 14 points and seven goals, and fourth with a career-high seven assists. He also had a career-high six caused turnovers and a career-best 19 ground balls.
• Skinner posted a career-high four points on two goals and two assists at LIU, and recorded a career-high three takeaways and six ground balls at Cleveland State.

I WILL TAKE A HENIGE

• Graduate senior Sean Henige is back to help provide the Titans with another standout long pole.
• He had two caused turnovers and four ground balls in the season opener at Ohio State and registered another takeaway and GB at Michigan.  
• He has played in 40 career games, starting 37, and registered 37 caused turnovers - 11th in school history - and 72 ground balls. 

WE NEED MOORE

• Junior Gavin Moore has played in all 27 games as a short-stick defensive midfielder since entering the Motor City.
• He just picked up two ground balls at #18 Michigan. 
• Moore collected a pair of ground balls in the opener after tallying 10 caused turnovers and 14 ground balls. 
• He played a strong game and picked up a career-high three ground balls in the NEC Semifinals triumph over Le Moyne.
• Moore tallied a career-high three caused turnovers and scored his first collegiate goal against Wagner, and scored another goal with two GBs at Cleveland State.

BERRYLICIOUS

• Sophomore Malakhi Berry has picked up three ground balls in each of the first two games from his LSM position. 
• Last season, he missed a few games with an injury, but when he was healthy, he showed the talent to be one of the best LSM's in the NEC.
• He saw action in 10 games as a rookie and had seven caused turnovers and 15 ground balls with a goal.
• Berry tallied a caused turnover and season-high four ground balls against Wagner and Mercyhurst. He had a season-high two caused turnovers in the NEC semifinals at Le Moyne and matched that with two takeaways, a ground ball, and his first collegiate goal in the NEC Championship against Robert Morris.

T SQUARED ON THE TAKE

• Freshman Tommy Thompson started his collegiate career with a pair of caused turnovers at #10 Ohio State, en route to the NEC Freshman of the Week.
• He is also the first SSDM to win a weekly award since head coach Charlie Hayes '18 earned MAAC Defensive Player of the Week honors three times in 2018.
• Last year at The Hill Academy, Thompson was the Co-Defensive Player of the Year after recording a team-high 90 ground balls and 75 caused turnovers.

IN THE NET

• The Titans entered the season a little light in goaltending experience, but redshirt junior Cooper St. Clair won the starting job and has performed at a high level in the first two games.
• He posted 14 saves in the season opener at #10 Ohio State and added 10 more at #18 Michigan. 
• Coming into the year, he saw action in just two games, both last season, playing 2:39 in net at Bellarmine and then a minute against Le Moyne.
• Redshirt sophomore Christian Tucker appeared in one game last year, making his collegiate debut and playing 7:59 in net against Robert Morris, posting two saves.
• Meanwhile, freshman Luke Grasso recorded a 72.0 save percentage and a 2.53 goals-against average, and led his squad to a 28-0 record and a state title last year at Lambert High School in Georgia. 

LEAVE IT UP TO THE CREATOR

• Junior Julian Greendeer had his sophomore season cut short due to a hand injury last year.
• He ended up playing in eight games, starting seven, recording five points on three goals and two assists.
• He scored his first collegiate goal at Hampton and found the back of the net at LIU and at VMI.
• Last summer, Greendeer and teammate Marcus Thundercloud played with the Haudenosaunee Nation at the U-20 World Lacrosse Championships.