Mercer University are repping fresh Maverik Rome gloves and home/away Cascade helmets. One is a White CPX R helmet and the other is a Black R helmet. The bears wore the new digs in a loss to Detroit. View more images and game notes below.
Junior Shayne Adams (St. Catharines, Ont. / Denis Morris) recorded his 14th career hat trick and junior Scott Drummond (Birmingham, Mich. / Seaholm) tied his career high with five points as the University of Detroit Mercy men's lacrosse team won its season opener in thrilling fashion, 11-10, over Mercer at Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac on Sunday afternoon.
Adams finished with three goals and Drummond added two goals and tied his career high with three assists. Senior Tom Masterson (London, Ont. / St. Thomas Aquinas) posted two goals – including the first Titan score of 2014 – and had a helper and juniors Brandon Beauregard (Clarkston, Mich. / Notre Dame Prep) and Mike Birney (Plymouth, Mich. / Catholic Central) each netted a pair of markers.
Redshirt freshman Connor Flynn (Rockford, Mich. / Rockford) made his collegiate debut in net and made 16 saves for the win and junior defender Joe Gifford (Rochester Hills, Mich. / Notre Dame Prep) came away with a game and career-high four caused turnovers.
The Titans (1-0) led 8-5 in the third period, but Mercer (1-2) was able to score four in a row to jump out in front, 9-8, with 11:48 left in the game. Drummond then tied things up with just under 10 minutes left and Adams connected on a pair of strikes for an 11-9 lead with 2:33 remaining.
It was a tight game at the start as it was 2-2 after one and 4-4 at the half. After a Mercer score, Drummond found Masterson who fired one in to knot it at 1-1. Masterson then squared things away at 2-2 off a pass from senior Alex Maini (Lynbrook, N.Y. / Lynbrook) late in the first.
Detroit then trailed 3-2 at the 13:03 mark of the second when Beauregard and Adams had back-to-back unassisted goals, but the Bears tied it at 4-all with 2:02 left in the half.
The Titans looked like they were taking control in the third as Birney found the back of the net less than a minute into play and Drummond got one past the goalie to make it a 6-4 contest with 10:20 on the clock. UDM then took advantage of a Mercer penalty as Masterson fed Beauregard for a 7-4 advantage with 8:55 remaining.
The two teams then traded goals as Birney lit up the scoreboard again for an 8-5 lead with 3:58 left in the third.
Sophomore Jordan Yono (Novi, Mich. / Catholic Central) had a career-high three caused turnovers and three ground balls, while Flynn picked up six of his own. Senior Troy Dennis (Baldwin, N.Y. / Baldwin) had two caused turnovers and two GB's, while sophomore Damien Hicks (Copiague, N.Y. / Copiague) was 8-for-17 in faceoffs.
Mercer outshot the Titans, 38-29, but Detroit won the battle of ground balls, 29-20. UDM was 13-of-16 in clears, while the Bears were successful on 14-of-18.
The red, white and blue will now get ready for the maize and blue as the Titans host Michigan on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., at Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac. Tickets are priced at $10 and are going quickly. To purchase tickets, click here.
Game Notes:
Detroit is now 3-0 all-time against Mercer… It was the first-ever season opening win for Detroit… Adams missed the last 11 games last season with a shoulder injury… Beauregard has five goals in his last two games after tallying a hat trick against Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Championship in 2013… Adams ran his point streak to 33-straight games, the fourth most in Division I… Flynn's 16 saves are tied for the ninth most in Titan history… Gifford had just one career caused turnover coming into the game…