Howell, MI – The third-ranked UC women's lacrosse team picked up right where they left off offensively tallying 17 first half goals en route to a 25-5 season-opening win over Cleary Monday night.  In addition to the win, the Patriots had to players reach milestone as Amanda Phillips notched her 100 career point, while Jaclyn Berry netted her 100^th career goal in the game.

Cumberlands struck first as Samantha Tullar, reigning NAIA Player of the Year, recorded a pair of goals before connecting with Katie Brewer to give UC a 3-1 lead just over a minute into the first half.  The score remained that way until the 25:50 mark when Tullar completed her first hat trick of the season with an unassisted goal.  Phillips tallied her 100^th career point 30 seconds later as she netted an unassisted goal to extend the lead to 5-1. Berry, who came into the game with 98 career goals, recorded two of the next four goals to become the second player in program history with 100 career goals and extend the lead to 9-1 with 21:18 remaining.

The Patriots pushed the lead to 12-2 before Bella Ricchiazzi tallied her first collegiate goal of her career midway through the first half.  Berry netted three straight goals to extend the Patriots lead to 15-2 with 8:39 remaining.  After a Cleary goal, Tullar and Ricchiazzi each netted a goal in the final three minutes to give UC a 17-3 lead at the break.

UC offensive explosion continued in the second half as the Patriots netted four unanswered goals to extend their lead to 21-3.  Tristyn Hudson got the scoring started at the 24:38 mark, while Tullar, Berry, and Ricchiazzi each added a goal.  After a Cougars goal, Shea West and Stephanie Meyer each posted their first goal of the season as part of a 4-0 run to extend the lead to 25-4.  Cleary netted the final goal of the contest at the 1:59 mark for the 25-5 final.

Tullar led the way for the Patriots with six goals and four assists, while Berry added six goals and an assist.  Ricchiazzi netted four goals as West and Brewer each finished with two.  Phillips tallied two goals and two assists to become the third player in program history to reach 100 points and the first player to record 100 points and 100 ground balls.  Emily Heim tallied a pair of points and three draw controls, while Trinity Brown scooped a team-high five ground balls.

UC returns to action Friday, February 15, as they face fourth-ranked Lawrence Tech at Detroit Country Day School. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. with live video is available here, while live stats will be available here.

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