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The Detroit men's lacrosse team saw 11 different Titans net goals as the red, white and blue downed Presbyterian, 9-8, before falling to Fairfield, 10-8, at the 4th Annual Nick Colleluori Classic.

“I was happy with the way we played and just all of fall practice in general,” said head coach Matt Holtz. “We got a chance to play a lot of kids and put them in game situations, especially the freshmen, and that will help us evaluate them as we get ready for the spring.”

The exhibitions were part of a weekend of events sponsored by The HEADstrong Foundation, which was helped being founded by Nick Colleluori, a lacrosse player at Hofstra University who lost his battle with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2006 at the age of 21. Because of his love for the game, the event was created as a way to raise money for blood cancer cures, treatment, research and awareness. It is also held in Colleluori's hometown of Folsom, PA, at Ridley High School.

Detroit controlled the action in its first game against Presbyterian as the Titans held an 8-4 lead going into the final period of play, before a late Blue Hose rally made it a one-goal outcome.

Sophomore Joel Matthews (St. Catharines, ON/Holy Cross Secondary), a second team All-MAAC selection as a freshman, topped Detroit with three goals. Freshman Vince Indiano (Fishers, IN/Cathedral) netted a pair of markers, while sophomore Tyler Staruch (Brighton, MI/Brighton) and freshmen Matt Lining (Troy, MI/Troy Athens), Alex Maini (Lynbrook, NY/Lynbrook) and Tom Masterson (London, ON/St. Thomas Aquinas CCS) also found the back of the net. Picking up assists in the first game was Staruch, junior John Nowicki (Clinton Twp., MI/De La Salle Collegiate) and rookie Drew Schupbach (Clarkston, MI/St. Mary's).

In game two, UDM stood tall with a good Fairfield team, but just fell short. The Stags were 8-6 a year ago and finished the season 25th in the nation in the RPI rankings. One of Fairfield's eight victories was against national runner-up Notre Dame when the Fighting Irish were No. 3 in the country.

“I liked the way we played against a very good Fairfield program,” said Holtz. “They are tough team that has really improved and we went with a bit shorter of a bench against them because I really wanted to evaluate and see where we are as a program.”

Matthews and redshirt freshman Wes Steen (Columbus, OH/Olentangy Liberty) each had two goals for Detroit, with Matthews assisting on two others. Nowicki added a marker and an assist, while Schupbach, freshman Shayne Adams (St. Catherines, ON/Denis Morris) and junior Jason McDonald (Bayport, NY/Bayport-Blue Point) each tallied a score. Junior Scott Harris (Saline, MI/Saline) also was involved as the Titans' leading assist man from last season had two helpers.

All three goalies played for Detroit as sophomore A.J. Levell (Columbus, OH/Dublin Scioto) started and played every minute against Fairfield, while junior Mike Brown (Troy, MI/Troy Athens) and freshman Danny Kransberger (Grand Rapids, MI/Forest Hills Central) split time in between the pipes in game one.

“All three guys stepped up and made some big plays for us. I also thought our face-off guys played extremely well, especially Brandon (Davenport) and Tyler (Corcoran),” added Holtz.

As the fall season comes to a close, Detroit will get into more individual and strength training before getting back together for the 2011 season. In the near future, UDM will unveil its 2011 schedule.