Hayes, Shakerin named 1st team All-Americans; Witt on 2nd team
Three Bees were named NAIA Men's Lacrosse All-Americans, the association announced on Monday. Nolan Hayes and Michael Shakerin earned first-team honors, while Dylan Witt was a second-team selection. St. Ambrose finished with 14 wins, the most in program history, and went to the NAIA Invitational for the second-straight season.
Hayes, a junior from Grayson, Ga., earned All-American honors for the first time after being named the KCAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the conference. The Bee goalie had 11 wins in net, tying him for the most goalkeeper victories in the NAIA. His goals-against-average and winning percentage put him fourth overall in the NAIA. Hayes made 168 saves on the season, and his 66.1% save percentage was top in the NAIA. Hayes had a season-high 20 saves in a win over William Penn on March 9th.
Shakerin, a junior from Lake Oswego, Ore., was named a first-team All-American in 2022 after earning second-team honors a year ago. The KCAC Offensive Player of the Year led St. Ambrose in goals, assists, and points this season. He set single-season records in assists with 30 and points with 70. Shakerin reached 100 career goals in 2022, ranking him first in SAU history. He is also SAU's career leader in assists and points. Shakerin was named the NAIA Player of the Week on March 29th. He scored a season-high five goals in a win against Clarke on April 12th and had a season-high four assists in games against Concordia (Mich.) on March 16th and Aquinas on March 21st.
Witt, a transfer from the University of Montevallo, made his presence known as a member of the St. Ambrose defense. Witt was a first-team all-KCAC selection after leading the Bees in caused turnovers. His 29 caused turnovers set a single-season record for SAU and ranked him 6th in the NAIA. He caused a season-high five turnovers in the KCAC Championship game against Benedictine on April 23rd. Witt collected a total of 39 ground balls in 2022, good enough for fourth place on the team. His best ground ball total also came in the KCAC Championship, when he scooped up eight.