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Harold Skinner on offense
Jack Moreland - Detroit Mercy Athletics

Men's Lacrosse

Men's Lacrosse To Battle VMI In Must-Win Senior Day

Men's Lacrosse

Men's Lacrosse To Battle VMI In Must-Win Senior Day

Senior Harold Skinner and the Titans will need a win and help to make the playoffs.
DETROIT (4/23/2026) -- Once again, the season has come down to the final week of the regular season as the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team faces VMI on Saturday at Titan Field.

Game time is set for Noon and will be broadcast live on the Titans Sports Network on YouTube.

Prior to the game, the Titans will honor eight seniors in Harold Skinner, Caden Loken, Sean Henige, Kyle Grant, Zane Hitch, Christian Tucker, Zach Snider, and Jackson Ewald. The group has helped the Titans navigate coaching changes and conference affiliations and led UDM to a trip to the NEC Championship last year.

Detroit Mercy still has a chance to make the playoffs, but it all starts with a win over the Keydets. In addition, UDM needs Cleveland State to win at LIU, Robert Morris to beat Wagner on the road, and Mercyhurst to down Le Moyne in a road contest to get the #4 seed in the NEC Championship.

The Titans have won two in a row to reach this point, defeating Cleveland State at home, 10-8, and Mercyhurst on the road last week, 11-6. Redshirt junior Cooper St. Clair has made 30 saves in the two victories, earning NEC Defensive Player of the Week accolades after both contests, while freshman Luke Zajdel has posted back-to-back three-goal outbursts.

VMI is 6-6 on the season and 3-3 in the NEC, having won two in a row with a 10-8 win at LIU and a 13-6 triumph at home over Wagner. A win clinches the final spot for the Keydets, while a loss would have them scoreboard watching for the winning combination of RMU, LIU, and Mercyhurst.

ALL-TIME SERIES
  • This is the 10th career meeting between the two schools, who were once rivals in the MAAC from 2010-13 and are now conference foes again in the NEC, with the Titans leading the series, 6-3.
  • All nine games have been decided by five goals or less, including five by three or less.
  • UDM is 4-0 all-time at home in the game.

Series History
Mar. 27, 2010 @ Detroit, MI - W, 11-8
Mar. 19, 2011 @ Detroit, MI - W, 13-9
Apr. 28, 2012 @ Lexington, VA - L, 8-7
Mar. 23, 2013 @ Detroit, MI - W, 11-6
Mar. 1, 2014 @ Lexington, VA - W, 8-6
Mar. 12, 2022 @ Birmingham, MI - W, 16-11
Feb. 4, 2023 @ Lexington, VA - L, 14-11
Mar. 2, 2024 @ Columbus, OH - L, 15-10
Apr. 5, 2025 @ Lexington, VA - W, 10-9 (ot)

WHAT IS THE SECRET FORMULA
  • The Titans still have a chance at a playoff spot, but will need a specific outcome in the other three NEC games, combined with a victory over VMI, to secure the fourth and final seed.
  • In addition to a win, Detroit Mercy needs Cleveland State to win at LIU, Robert Morris to beat Wagner on the road, and Mercyhurst to down Le Moyne on the road.

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.
  • 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.

SOME HIGH RANKINGS
  • The Titans rank first in the NEC and fifth nationally with 14.0 saves per game. 
  • They are also second in the NEC and 27th in the nation in caused turnovers (8.3), second in the league in ground balls (30.0) and clearing (.852), third in faceoff percentage (.520), and third in man-down defense (.638).  

STARTING THE OFFENSE
  • Sophomore Canton Lanham continues to make his way into the Titan history books and is now second in school history in faceoff winning percentage (53.1%) and fourth in total wins with 241. 
  • He already has a career-high 132 wins and 72 ground balls on the year, leading the NEC and ranking 20th in DI with 6.0 ground balls per game, and second in the league and 27th in the nation in winning percentage at 56.7%.
  • His 132 wins are third in a single season in school history behind Alex Jarzembowski's 213 in 2019 and 163 in 2018, while his 72 GB's on the season are tied for fifth with Paul Manuszak in 2019
  • Lanham has seven games on the year and 12 in his career with double-digit victories.
  • He was 10-of-17 with six ground balls at Mercyhurst after 12-of-18 with eight ground balls against Cleveland State. He won 17-of-20 with seven ground balls at Wagner and 10-of-19 at RMU.
  • Lanham posted a career game, taking a career-high 21-of-28 and picking up a career-best 13 ground balls at Hampton. 
  • The GBs are tied for second in school history, while the 21 wins tied for fourth. 
  • A member of the NEC All-Rookie Team, he ended his rookie year with 109 faceoff wins, the second most by a freshman and the fourth most in school history.

THUNDER STRIKES
  • Redshirt sophomore Marcus Thundercloud recorded his sixth career hat trick after notching four goals and five points in the win over Cleveland State, en route to NEC Player of the Week accolades, and had a goal and an assist last week at Mercyhurst.
  • He is first on the squad with 25 points and 13 assists, and third with 12 goals, ranking fifth in the league with 1.08 assists per game. 
  • He had a career performance with seven points on three goals and a career-best four assists at Hampton.
  • To start NEC play, Thundercloud had two goals and an assist at Robert Morris and handed out three assists at Wagner.  
  • He had an outstanding rookie season, earning NEC Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-NEC honors.
  • 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. 
  • 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.
  • Thundercloud missed his freshman year with a knee injury. 

GET BY ME
  • Senior Kyle Grant is a shutdown defensman, tallying a caused turnover in 11 games - six with multiple takeaways - as well as at least two ground balls in 11 of the 12 games. 
  • He is third in the NEC and 23rd in the country with 1.8 caused turnovers per game, and 11th in the conference with 2.8 ground balls per game. 
  • Grant is tied for fifth in school history with 60 caused turnovers and now has 102 ground balls in his career. 
  • He tallied two caused turnovers and four ground balls at Mercyhurst, two CT's and three GB's against LIU, and had a caused turnover and three ground balls at Robert Morris and at Wagner. 
  • He was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 16 after registering four takeaways and three GB's at #18 Michigan, and then tying his career-high with six caused turnovers and four more ground balls in the win at Hampton.
  • At #10 Ohio State, he had four ground balls, two caused turnovers, and his second career goal, and added another goal with a caused turnover and three GB's against Bellarmine.
  • Grant is coming off a great year, culminating in selection to the NEC First Team All-NEC and All-Tournament Team.
  • 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 2.0 caused turnovers per game.
  • He posted a career-high six caused turnovers and seven ground balls at Ohio State last year, tied for the second most in school history. 

ALL WELL WITH GREEN
  • Ian Greenwell had a standout freshman campaign, earning NEC All-Rookie Team honors, and has been solid again as a sophomore. 
  • He already has a career-high 17 takeaways and 31 ground balls. 
  • He has caused a turnover in 10 games, with at least two in seven of them, as well as at least two ground balls in 10 affairs.
  • He is currently sixth in the NEC with 1.4 takeaways per game and 15th with 2.54 ground balls per game. 
  • Greenwell just posted two caused turnovers and two ground balls at Mercyhurst after a career-high three caused turnovers and six ground balls against Cleveland State. 
  • He had two takeaways and four ground balls against LIU, where he also registered an assist. He posted two caused turnovers and four ground balls at Wagner, two caused turnovers and three GB's against Marquette, two caused turnovers and two ground balls against Bellarmine, and two ground balls and two caused turnovers at #18 Michigan.
  • As a rookie, he saw action in all 13 games and was second on the team with 15 caused turnovers - eighth in the NEC - and fourth with 34 GB's.

IN THE NET
  • The Titans entered the season a little light in goalie experience, but redshirt junior Cooper St. Clair won the starting job and has performed at a high level, registering 168 saves.
  • He leads the NEC and is fifth in the nation with 14.0 saves per game, while he is also second in the league and 14th in DI with a .553 save percentage. His 168 saves are already seventh in school history.
  • St. Clair was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Week after stopping 14 shots and allowing just six goals at Mercyhurst.
  • Last week, he made 16 saves and gave up just eight goals versus Cleveland State, earning him the full NEC Defensive Player of the Week nod.
  • St. Clair now has double-digit saves in 10 of the 12 games on the year, and has allowed less than 10 goals in five of the six NEC contests.
  • He kept a high-scoring LIU squad to just nine goals with 18 saves, stopped 13 shots at Wagner, posted a season-high 19 against Marquette, 18 at Jacksonville, 14 at #10 Ohio State, and 10 at #18 Michigan - allowing just four goals in the second half.
  • Coming into the year, he saw action in just two games, both last season.

MY MAN PARKER
  • Sophomore Andrew Parker has scored a goal in 19 of his 23 career games and has at least one in 10 of 12 games on the year.
  • He is second on the team with 24 points and tied for first with 17 goals, ranking 10th in the NEC with 1.42 goals per game.
  • He handed out two assists and found the back of the net twice at Le Moyne and at Robert Morris, and once at Wagner and versus LIU.   
  • Parker had a hat trick with three goals at #18 Michigan, posted two goals and two assists at Hampton, and his third career hat trick with three markers and a helper versus Bellarmine. 
  • Last season, he earned NEC All-Rookie Team and 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 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.

PEEGE LEAVES HIS MARK
  • Freshman PJ O'Hanlon has netted a goal in eight games, including a standout performance at Hampton, scoring five times.
  • He just had two goals at Mercyhurst and is now third on the team with 20 points and tied for first with 17 goals, ranking 10th in the NEC with 1.42 goals per game.
  • O'Hanlon had his first two collegiate goals at #18 Michigan, and netted two at Jacksonville, at RMU, and at Wagner.
  • Against LIU, he recorded a pair of assists with a marker.  
  • 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.

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 had a caused turnover and ground ball at Mercyhurst, a caused turnover and two ground balls versus LIU, and added a takeaway and a GB versus Cleveland State. He started the year with a takeaway at Ohio State, and ended with a takeaway and a GB at RMU, and had another caused turnover at Wagner.  
  • Learning from the best SSDM in school history in head coach Charlie Hayes, Ewald posted a career-high six caused turnovers and 16 ground balls last year. 
  • He has 15 caused turnovers and 30 ground balls in 48 career games. 

BERRYLICIOUS
  • Sophomore Malakhi Berry has picked up right where he left off last year, as he is sixth on the team with 25 ground balls and has three goals as a LSM.
  • He had a caused turnover and ground ball against Cleveland State, and a caused turnover and two GB's versus LIU. 
  • Berry had a caused turnover and a career-high six ground balls against Bellarmine, and posted two goals, two caused turnovers, and five GB's at Hampton.  
  • Last season, he saw action in 10 contests and had seven caused turnovers and 15 ground balls with a goal.

3 NAMES FOR OUR LSM
  • Freshman Tyler Francis-Renner has earned a lot of playing time early on and just returned after missing a few games with an injury. 
  • He has scored a goal in each of the last two games at Mercyhurst and against Cleveland State and posted two caused turnovers and four ground balls at Le Moyne.
  • He had a caused turnover in his collegiate debut at Ohio State and added a takeaway and two GB's at Michigan.
  • He picked up three ground balls at Hampton, scored his first collegiate goal versus Bellarmine, and added another caused turnover and GB at Wagner and versus LIU. 

ZAJDEL WITH 3 AGAIN
  • Freshman Luke Zajdel recorded his first point with an assist against Hampton, but his scoring has picked up in the last few games.
  • Zajdel has registered two straight hat tricks with three goals at Mercyhurst and versus Cleveland State, including the final two goals to break the 8-8 tie with just five minutes left.
  • He also scored two goals against LIU, bringing his total to eight in his last four games after just one assist in his first seven.

I WILL TAKE A HENIGE
  • Graduate senior Sean Henige is back to help provide the Titans with another standout long pole.
  • He had a strong defensive effort, causing a turnover and picking up three ground balls against Cleveland State. 
  • Henige tied his career high with three caused turnovers at Hampton, and that was after two caused turnovers and four ground balls at Ohio State.
  • He has played in 49 career games, starting 42, and registered 43 caused turnovers - ninth in school history - and 83 ground balls. 

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 was the first SSDM to win a weekly award since head coach Charlie Hayes earned MAAC Defensive Player of the Week honors three times in 2018.
  • He had a goal and two ground balls at Mercyhurst and two caused turnovers at Le Moyne. He scored his first collegiate goal with two GB's versus Bellarmine, had a takeaway and two GB's at Robert Morris, and registered a CT and GB versus LIU. 

WE NEED MOORE
  • Junior Gavin Moore has played in all 38 games as a short-stick defensive midfielder since entering the Motor City.
  • He is coming off a strong two-way game with a goal, a caused turnover, and three ground balls at Mercyhurst.
  • He had a great game, recording two caused turnovers and tying his career best with four ground balls against Bellarmine, and has picked up a pair of GB's at Jacksonville and at Robert Morris.
  • Moore scored his third career goal and had a caused turnover at Hampton. 

DANTON IS THE KEY
  • Senior Danton Molotky missed last season with an injury after not seeing any action in 2024, but he scored his first two collegiate goals against Bellarmine.
  • Since then, he has tallied strikes against Marquette and at Le Moyne.

SHOWING OUR SKIN
  • Graduate senior Harold Skinner is back to give the Titans more experience at attack and in the midfield.
  • He returned from injury and scored a goal against Wagner and LIU and added an assist against Cleveland State.
  • He had three points on two goals and an assist, plus a ground ball, at Hampton. He began the year with four GB's at Ohio State and posted three points on a goal and two assists at Michigan. 
  • Last season, Skinner was fifth with a career-best 14 points and seven goals, and fourth with a career-high seven assists. 
  • Skinner totaled a career-high four points on two goals and two assists at LIU, and recorded a career-high three takeaways and six GB's at Cleveland State.




 
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Players Mentioned

Malakhi Berry

#49 Malakhi Berry

LSM
6' 3"
Sophomore
Jackson Ewald

#88 Jackson Ewald

DM
5' 10"
Senior
Kyle Grant

#4 Kyle Grant

D
6' 5"
Senior
Ian Greenwell

#28 Ian Greenwell

D
6' 2"
Sophomore
Sean Henige

#44 Sean Henige

D
6' 3"
Graduate Student
Zane Hitch

#5 Zane Hitch

LSM
5' 10"
Senior
Canton Lanham

#18 Canton Lanham

FO
5' 10"
Sophomore
Caden Loken

#32 Caden Loken

MF
6' 2"
Graduate Student
Danton Molotky

#47 Danton Molotky

A/MF
5' 9"
Senior
Gavin Moore

#9 Gavin Moore

DM
6' 2"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Malakhi Berry

#49 Malakhi Berry

6' 3"
Sophomore
LSM
Jackson Ewald

#88 Jackson Ewald

5' 10"
Senior
DM
Kyle Grant

#4 Kyle Grant

6' 5"
Senior
D
Ian Greenwell

#28 Ian Greenwell

6' 2"
Sophomore
D
Sean Henige

#44 Sean Henige

6' 3"
Graduate Student
D
Zane Hitch

#5 Zane Hitch

5' 10"
Senior
LSM
Canton Lanham

#18 Canton Lanham

5' 10"
Sophomore
FO
Caden Loken

#32 Caden Loken

6' 2"
Graduate Student
MF
Danton Molotky

#47 Danton Molotky

5' 9"
Senior
A/MF
Gavin Moore

#9 Gavin Moore

6' 2"
Junior
DM