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The #6 men's lacrosse team is set to face the #3 St. Ambrose Fighting Bees on Wednesday (May 11) to kick-off the NAIA Men's Lacrosse National Tournament. The game is slated to begin at 5:00 PM EST in Pensacola, Florida. The Saints have been nationally ranked since March 9th after starting the season with wins against (RV) Webber International and #5 Columbia. This is the second time that the men's lacrosse program has competed in the national tournament after Aquinas College hosted the tournament back in 2019 at the AQ Athletic Field. AQ finished as national runners-up after beating both Indiana Tech and Lawrence Tech to begin the tournament, before falling to Reinhardt by a score of 11-4 in the national championship game.
AQ enters the 2022 national tournament with an at-large bid after a 10-4 season. Including the wins against Webber International and Columbia, the Saints also beat (RV) Madonna, (RV) Lourdes, (RV) Siena Heights, and #10 Lawrence Tech this past season. Aquinas went on a seven-game win streak leading up to the WHAC Tournament, outscoring its opponents by a whopping 86 goals over the seven-game stretch. Unfortunately, the win streak was cut short by #10 Siena Heights in the WHAC Tournament Semifinals, as SHU just pulled off a 9-8 upset over AQ.
Leading the Saints all season has been All-WHAC First Team attacker,
Mitch Haggart. He has 52 goals and 20 assists on the season for a total of 72 points to lead the team in all three categories. Nationally, he is ranked third in goals and fourth in points, while also leading the NAIA by a wide margin in total shots.
Joey Fitzgerald and
Zachary Sweet also have significantly contributed to the offensive side of the ball, as they both earned All-WHAC Second Team honors. Sweet trailed only Haggart in goals for the Saints with 47 on the year, the 11th best total in the NAIA. Fitzgerald scored 21 goals, while assisting on 10 more from the midfield.
Lou Nageotte and
Kevin LaHaie also earned All-WHAC First Team honors after phenomenal seasons in the midfield. LaHaie has been a two-way player for the Saints this season as he had a team-leading 61 ground balls and 18 caused turnovers to go along with 13 goals and eight assists offensively. Nageotte has played long stick midfielder for AQ this season as a freshman and has been great defensively. He has 41 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers, while also scoring his first collegiate goal against Taylor.
Matt Wagner earned his fourth All-WHAC First Team honor this season after playing fantastic defense. He has personally forced 17 turnovers and picked up 36 ground balls on the season.
Gavin Kleynenberg was the other defensive presence for the Saints, forcing 15 turnovers and picking up 35 ground balls so far on his way to an All-WHAC Second Team selection. Overall, Kleynenberg and Wagner have helped the Saints allow just 8.87 goals per game this season.
Clayton Boerigter is the rock behind the defense in net for the Saints. He has a 9-4 record record on the season with 136 saves, an 8.92 goals-against average, and a .562 save percentage. On a national scale, Boerigter is currently ranked 12th in goals-against average, 13th in save percentage, and 15th in total saves. Due to his performance this season, Boerigter was the fifth All-WHAC First Team player for Aquinas.
The NAIA Quarterfinals will be a rematch from March 21 when the Fighting Bees topped the Saints by a close score of 16-13. St. Ambrose would take a late 15-10 lead against the Saints in that game and the five-goal deficit was just too much for Aquinas' late rally to overcome. SAU was the home team in that matchup earlier this season and AQ will be looking for a different outcome down in Pensacola, Florida this time.
St. Ambrose ended the season with a 14-2 record with one of its only two losses coming to Benedictine College in the KCAC Tournament Championship. The Fighting Bees picked up wins against #8 William Penn, #10 Columbia, #9 Concordia, #6 Aquinas, #8 Benedictine, and (RV) Ottawa University. SAU qualified for the national tournament last year (2021), where they fell to #4 Keiser University in the quarterfinal of the tournament.
Aquinas and St. Ambrose are nearly identical in many statistics heading into the game. AQ has scored slightly more goals per game than SAU (14.64-14.53). However, the Fighting Bees have been one of the best teams in the country defensively, allowing just 6.47 goals per game and trailing only Indiana Tech in goals allowed per game. In comparison, AQ has allowed 8.87 goals per game, the 10th best mark in the country.
Statistically, Saint Ambrose boasts the best goalie in the country, Nolan Hayes. Hayes as a national-best .667 save percentage and 11 wins. He has 152 saves in 13 games started, allowing just 6.97 goals per game. Michael Shakerin has been the offensive powerhouse for the Fighting Bees this year. He is ranked 8th in the NAIA in points, scoring 39 goals and assisting 30 more.
If Aquinas advances in the tournament, the Saints will play the winner of the #2 Reinhardt and #7 Keiser in the semifinals. Reinhardt is the three-time defending champions with a title reign that dates back to 2018. Reinhardt finished the season with a 10-1 record and the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament champions. Keiser ended the season with an 8-5 record, entering the tournament with an at-large bid.
