2023 Heart Men’s Lacrosse All-Conference Teams Announced
The Heart of America Athletic Conference made history on Thursday, as the conference announced its first-ever Heart Men's Lacrosse All-Conference teams and major award winners.
The award winners feature players from across the conference and are listed as First Team or Second Team in their respective positions.
The individual awards and All-Conference teams were selected by the Heart men's lacrosse head coaches.
Below please find the list of 2023 individual major award winners:
2023 Heart Men's Lacrosse Player of the Year – Breck Putzier – William Penn University
Breck leads the NAIA in goals scored with 65 and total points with 124. He has attempted 199 shots this season with 124 on goal.
2023 Heart Men's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Year – Breck Putzier – William Penn University
The sophomore from Minneapolis, Minnesota also has 59 assists so far this season. Putzier and the No. 1 seeded Statesmen defeated No. 4 Benedictine, 23-8, in the Heart Semifinals to qualify for the first-ever Heart Men's Lacrosse Conference Tournament Championship game on Saturday.
2023 Heart Men's Lacrosse Co-Defensive Players of the Year – Nolan Hayes – St. Ambrose and Luke Modesto – Mount Vernon Nazarene
Hayes has spent over 742 minutes in goal for the Fighting Bees and collected 161 saves, 54 coming in Heart play. Hayes and the No. 2 seeded Fighting Bees have advanced to the Heart Men's Lacrosse Conference championship game at No. 1 William Penn.
Modesto garnered 55 ground balls this season and caused 29 turnovers. He also scored six goals and collected four assists.
2023 Heart Men's Lacrosse Newcomer of the Year – Paul Gordon – Benedictine College
Gordon helped lead the Ravens on both sides of the field. He scored 26 goals for BC and registered eight assists. Defensively he collected 10 ground balls and caused three turnovers.
2023 Heart Men's Lacrosse Freshman of the Year – Wyatt Christiensen – William Penn
In his first year with the Statesmen, Christensen has scored 51 goals and dished out 30 assists for 81 total points. He has attempted 134 shots with 90 on goal.
2023 Heart Men's Lacrosse Co-Coaches of the Year – Billy Dineen – Benedictine College and Jon Paul St. Ambrose
In his first year with the Ravens, Coach Dineen led them to an overall record of 8-7 and 3-2 in the Heart and qualified for the first-ever Heart Men's Lacrosse Conference Tournament.
Coach Paul and the Fighting Bees are 8-6 overall and went 3-2 in the Heart regular season, earning the No. 2 seed in the Heart Conference Tournament.
2023 Heart Men's Lacrosse Assistant Coach of the Year – Devin Caesar – St. Ambrose
Coach Caesar and the Fighting Bees will look to earn an automatic bid to the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Invitational Championship with a win on Saturday in the first-ever Heart Men's Lacrosse Conference Tournament Championship game.
The No. 2 Fighting Bees will face No. 1 William Penn on Saturday at 2 pm in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
2023 First Team All-Conference
First Team Attackers:
Breck Putzier – William Penn
Wyatt Christensen – William Penn
Tyler Dickerson – Mount Vernon Nazarene
First Team Midfielders:
Jordan Rodriguez – Benedictine
Boston Romero – William Penn
Brett Townsend – Mount Vernon Nazarene
First Team Face Off:
Joseph Bianchi - Benedictine
First Team Short Stick Defensive Midfielder:
Collin Baliva – William Penn
First Team Long Stick Midfielder:
Joey Van Goethem – Missouri Valley
First Team Defenders:
Luke Modesto – Mount Vernon Nazarene
Drew Doran – Benedictine
Brad Howell – William Penn
First Team Goalie:
Nolan Hayes – St. Ambrose
2023 Second Team All-Conference
Second Team Attackers:
Michael Keating – St. Ambrose
Conner Cole – Clarke
Cole Eyckelhoff – Missouri Valley
Second Team Midfielders:
Cole Danner – St. Ambrose
Michael Shakerin – St. Ambrose
Alec Terbovich – Mount Vernon Nazarene
Second Team Face Off/Draw Specialist
Ryan Swarts – William Penn
Second Team Short Stick Defensive Midfielder:
Micah Rex – Mount Vernon Nazarene
First Team Long Stick Midfielder:
Carson Huerter - Benedictine
Second Team Defenders:
Hayden Adkins – Missouri Valley
Josh Jerome – Mount Vernon Nazarene
Chace Witherow – William Penn
Second Team Goalie:
Joshua Hageman – Mount Vernon Nazarene