Mercer University
Detroit Mercy
Men's Lacrosse Drops 12-7 Decision at Detroit
3/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
DETROIT, Mich. – The Mercer men's lacrosse team suffered a 12-7 loss at Detroit on Wednesday despite holding advantages in shots, ground balls and faceoffs won.
Mercer fell to 0-4 on the season while Detroit moved to 4-2 and remained unbeaten at home.
Sophomore Chris Rahill scored two goals and senior Tim Geran notched three assists to lead the Bears offensively. Mercer's seven goals came from six different players, with Geran, junior Chris Baxa, junior Ben LeSane, freshman Matt Quinn and freshman Scott Baird all finding the net.
After Detroit drew first blood, Rahill scored back-to-back goals in a 2:23 stretch to put Mercer in front. The lead would hold until the 3:13 juncture of the period, when Detroit's Andy Hebden scored the first of three-unanswered goals that put the Titans up 4-2 with 7:58 to go in the half.
Each team added two more scores before the break to send the hosts to intermission with a 6-4 lead. In the third quarter, Mercer clamped down defensively and allowed Detroit to get just three shots away, but could only counter with one goal on 13 total shots.
Mercer's third quarter tally trimmed the deficit to 6-5, but the Titans scored twice in a 15-second span to push the buffer to three. A goal by Geran briefly got the margin back to two, but the Titans finished on a 4-1 run to account for the final result.
The Bears out-shot the Titans 47-37, with Baxa's 12 attempts leading the way. Mercer also won ground balls, 42-25.
Senior Justin Evans won 14-of-23 faceoffs, took one shot and caused one turnover. Junior goalie Mike Nugent made 16 stops in 60 minutes of work.
The Bears return home for a Sunday matinee versus Marquette. Game time at Five Star Stadium is slated for 2 p.m.
