via press release, photo via Keiser web site   The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the eight qualifiers and bracket for the 2017 NAIA Men’s Lacrosse National Invitational. The event takes place for the second-straight season at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville, S.C., May 3 – 6. Keiser University (8-1) who is in their inaugural season will be the No. 4 seed and have a rematch against No. 5 Missouri Baptist (8-4). The first round game is slated for Wednesday, May 3, at 7:00 p.m. The Seahawks defeated Missouri Baptist, 15-9, back in March in a neutral site game at Reinhardt University. Justin Flint led the way with a game-high five goals while Craig Marentette and Nolan Duncan had three apiece. Jake Padden made a season-high 18 saves in that game. The winner of the game between Keiser and Missouri Baptist will face the winner of No. 1 Missouri Valley (13-1) vs. No. 8 Saint Mary (8-8), in the semifinals on Friday, May 5, at 1:00 p.m. Keiser is tops in the NAIA in goals per game with 18.5, second in assists per game with 10, and third in shots per game with 30. Marentette leads the country in goals per game with 5.25, points per game with 7.13, and shots on goal per game with 7.63. Jacob Bomberry is third with 5.88 points per game and fourth in goals per game with 4.13. Head Coach Patrick Johnston said, “I am really proud of how hard our student-athletes and staff have worked to make this tournament in year one of our program. It is pretty amazing to think we didn’t even have a team this time last year. Now the bracket has been released, we can start preparing to play our best lacrosse against the best lacrosse teams.” To view the entire bracket, click here