St. Ambrose faced a tough task Wednesday morning in Pensacola, Florida. The Fighting Bees took on the No. 1 team in the NAIA - Keiser University - in the quarterfinals of the NAIA Invitational. SAU got an early lead but couldn't hold on, as they fell, 19-7, to the Seahawks.

Isaiah Hahn gave St. Ambrose an early 1-0 lead, scoring just over a minute into the match. The Bees went up by two when Hahn found Cole Danner for the score with 10:02 left in the first quarter. Keiser found their groove, scoring the next four goals to close out the period and head into the second quarter with a 4-2 lead.

The Seahawks continued their scoring run in the second, netting a goal with 14:09 on the clock to make it a 5-2 game. After shots from Matt Cortopassi and Danner, Michael Shakerin found the back of the net for the Bees. His goal made it a two-score game with 11:54 until halftime. Keiser went on a 3-0 run to push their lead to 8-3 with 5:55 remaining. A goal from Patrick Flynn got St. Ambrose back on the board with 4:11 left until the break, but Keiser scored with no time left to take a 9-4 halftime lead.

Keiser had a man-up opportunity to start the third quarter and took advantage, making it 10-4 with 14:34 to go in the frame. Michael Keating had a goal disallowed but was able to find the back of the net at the 10:45 mark to make it a 10-5 game. The Seahawks would respond quickly and push their lead to 11-5 with 9:59 remaining. On the next possession, Nolan Hayes was called for a foul, and Isaac Martinez stepped in at goal. Martinez was able to make a save, but Keiser eventually got through to take a 12-5 lead with 6:55 left. They would add two more goals in the quarter to take a 14-5 lead heading into the final frame.

St. Ambrose was unable to slow down the Seahawks in the fourth as they rattled off four straight goals to take an 18-5 lead with 5:09 left in the game. SAU got on the board in the final quarter at the 3:52 mark when Cortopassi found Tyler Yetka on a man-up advantage to make it 18-6. Keiser would make it 19-6 with less than two minutes to go. Shakerin accounted for the final goal of the game with 45 seconds left and did so in style, going behind the back for the 19-7 final.

St. Ambrose was outshot 58-37 and only collected 12 ground balls to Keiser's 27.

Hayes finished with 13 saves in the loss, and Martinez had one. Shakerin scored twice, with Danner, Flynn, Hahn, Keating, and Yetka being the other goal-scorers. Hahn and Cortopassi each had assists. Edward Loggins, Trent Knight, and Jacob Blair recorded shots for SAU.

Jack Wiltrout won eight faceoffs and collected five ground balls. Shakerin collected two, and Loggins, Keating, Knight, and Lachlan Hodge each scooped up one.

The Bees finish their season at 9-7. St. Ambrose made it to the NAIA Invitational for a third straight season after winning the inaugural Heart Conference Tournament in men's lacrosse, giving SAU their first conference tournament title.