T


imes are tough in Detroit. The Motor City fi led for bankruptcy in July. It has led the nation in violent crimes for four years running. At press time, fi re crews were battling a large blaze in an abandoned factory on the city’s west side that potentially contained hazardous materials.


Still, Mike Birney, a junior midfi elder for the Detroit Mercy men’s lacrosse team, wanted to stay close to his hometown of Plymouth, Mich., for college. He thought the Titans, founded in 2009, had breakout potential, and he wanted to do something positive in the place he grew up. He’s one of 27 Michigan natives on the Detroit Mercy roster. “It’s nice to support Detroit and the state of Michigan, which doesn’t have the best reputation right now. It’s nice to do good things for my city and my state,” Birney said. Birney and his Titans teammates did some great things in 2013. After an 0-7 start, Detroit Mercy buckled down over spring break and raced to the program’s fi rst MAAC title and NCAA tournament berth. Birney was named the MAAC tournament’s most outstanding player with game-winning goals in both the semifi nal and championship game. Detroit Mercy came within a whisper of upsetting No. 2 seed Notre Dame in the NCAA tournament, too. “It was a great feeling. We weren’t stressed. We were having fun,” Birney said of the Titans’ late-season


Detroit Mercy strength and conditioning coach Sean Williamson works with midfielder Troy Dennis.


36 LACROSSE MAGAZINE November 2013 >>


Motor CityM A Publication of US Lacrosse


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