Hayes named KCAC Player of the Year; Shakerin Offensive POY
After going undefeated in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) regular season, St. Ambrose earned big honors. Nolan Hayes was named the Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year in the conference. Michael Shakerin, who was Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, claimed the award outright this season. First-year head coach Jon Paul was named the Coach of the Year in the KCAC. St. Ambrose has five NAIA Top 10 wins and has been ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Coaches' Top 10 Poll since March 23rd.
Hayes and Shakerin shared first-team all-KCAC honors with Hunter Northway and Dylan Witt. Four Bees were named second-team all-conference - Cole Danner, Sam Kerr, Gavin Flynn, and Hayden Latham. Michael Keating and Dawson Dickerson earned honorable mention.
Hayes, a junior from Grayson, Ga., has been a force all season in goal, ranking 1st in the NAIA in save percentage with 70.1%. He also ranks in the Top 5 of the NAIA in goals against and goals-against average. Hayes put up a season-high 20 saves in a win over William Penn on March 9th. Hayes was named the KCAC Player of the Week on March 22nd after a 16 save performance against then No. 9 Concordia (Mich.). He totaled 124 saves in the regular season, putting him 11th overall in the NAIA.
Shakerin, a two-time KCAC Player of the Week winner and National Player of the Week winner, led the way for SAU offensively. The attacker from Lake Oswego, Ore. led the team in goals (34), assists (25), and points (59) during the regular season. Shakerin's 25 assists is a St. Ambrose single-season record. He is already SAU's career leader in goals with 94 and points with 155 through the 2022 regular season. Shakerin scored a season-high five goals in a win at Clarke on April 12th and assisted on four goals twice this year - on March 16th against Concordia (Mich.) and on March 21st against Aquinas.
Northway, a faceoff specialist from Ankeny, Iowa, earned first-team honors after being a second-team selection last season. Northway was absolutely dominant in the faceoff circle in 2022. A two-time KCAC Player of the Week winner, he set a single-game faceoff win record at Clarke on April 12th with 31. Northway has won 181-248 faceoffs in the regular season, putting him 3rd in the NAIA. He is St. Ambrose's program leader in single-season ground balls, and the SAU career leader in ground balls and faceoff wins. Northway has collected 121 ground balls this year as of April 20th, which ranks him 3rd overall in the NAIA. He also recorded two goals and two assists this season.
Witt, a defenseman from Grayson, Ga., caused a team-high 22 turnovers and collected 26 ground balls in the regular season. He had a season-high four caused turnovers in a win against Concordia (Mich.) on March 16th and collected a season-high six ground balls at Ottawa on March 26th.
Danner, a junior from Lake Villa, Ill., earned second-team honors after recording 38 points in 2022 with 25 goals and 13 assists, as of April 20th. He recorded five points in each of the first three games this season, including a season-high five goals against William Penn on March 9th. Danner assisted on three goals in a win against Taylor (Ind.) on February 18th.
Flynn, a senior defenseman, caused problems for opposing offenses. He caused 10 turnovers and picked up 19 ground balls in the regular season, with his season-high in both categories coming in a win against Missouri Baptist on March 19th. Flynn was one of two SAU players that started all 13 games.
Kerr, who was an honorable mention conference selection in football, had a breakout lacrosse season. The senior scored 30 goals and had 5 assists as of April 20th, more than his first three seasons combined. He scored a career and season-high five goals in a win against Aquinas on March 21st. Kerr also scooped up 21 ground balls and caused six turnovers.
Latham, a long stick midfielder, repeats as a second-team all-conference selection. The senior came in just behind Witt in caused turnovers, forcing 22 in the regular season, with four of them coming in a win against Aquinas on March 21st. Latham collected 51 ground balls as of April 20th, with 10 of those coming at Clarke on April 12th. He also scored six goals and had three assists on the season.
Dickerson, a junior from Crozet, Va., earned honorable mention in the KCAC after collecting 19 ground balls and causing six turnovers in the regular-season to help SAU's midfield. He had a season-high four ground ball pickups in back-to-back games against Concordia (Mich.) and Missouri Baptist.
Keating, a junior from Sparks, Nev., upped his totals from a season ago, scoring 23 goals and recording 18 assists in the regular season for the Bees. He netted a hat-trick in six of St. Ambrose's games and assisted on three goals three times this year. Keating's best game came against Columbia on March 13th when he scored three goals, assisted on three goals, picked up 12 ground balls, and caused a turnover.