ERIE, Pa. (4/18/2026) -- Seven Titans found the back of the net, and UDM scored nine straight at one point to keep its playoff dreams alive as the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team thumped Mercyhurst on the road, 11-6, on a Saturday afternoon.

The win moved Detroit Mercy to 3-9 overall and 2-4 in the NEC, where it will need a win and some help in the other three conference games to secure the final playoff spot. 

Freshman Luke Zajdel posted his second straight hat trick with three goals. Freshman Dylan Belliveau had two goals and a helper, while freshman PJ O'Hanlon had two markers.

Redshirt junior Cooper St. Clair made 14 saves, and sophomore Canton Lanham was 10-of-16 in faceoffs with six ground balls.

The game was scoreless for the first nine and a half minutes when Mercyhurst (2-12, 0-6 NEC) was able to get one inbetween the pipes, despite five saves from St. Clair. 

The Titans tied the game at the 1:49 mark as graduate senior Caden Loken fed freshman Tyler Francis-Renner, and that ignited a 9-0 run for the red, white, and blue.

A save by St. Clair started a fast break with freshman Tommy Thompson finishing it for a 2-1 lead, his second goal of the year, in the second. A win at the faceoff by Lanham led to Zajdel's first goal at 8:07, and less than a minute later, O'Hanlon was able to beat the keeper.

A faceoff win set up the next offensive possession, with O'Hanlon netting another, and just 40 ticks later, off another victory by Lanham, Zajdel was able to bury it in the back of the net for a 6-1 score with 5:42 remaining in the second.

Belliveau collected his second marker with 4:24 left for a 7-1 lead at the break, and he scored again to start the third for an 8-1 advantage. The final goal in the spurt came from redshirt sophomore Marcus Thundercloud as senior Kyle Grant got the ball with a takeaway and Thundercloud was able to tickle the twine for the 9-1 margin with 12:50 left.

After the Lakers scored three in a row, junior Gavin Moore's strike made it a 10-4 game late in the third, while Zajdel finished his hat trick performance with 9:31 left in the fourth.

Grant ended with a caused turnover and four ground balls, while Moore added three GB's. Sophomore Ian Greenwell had a caused turnover and two ground balls, and graduate senior Sean Henige and senior Jackson Ewald each had a takeaway and ground ball.

The Titans were 24-of-26 on clears, won the battle of ground balls, 30-26, and held Mercyhurst to just 1-of-4 on the extra-man advantage. 

Detroit Mercy will return home next Saturday to face VMI, with the first faceoff set for Noon.

Game Notes: