Williamsburg, KY – Olivia McCarrell made a career-high 18 saves, while RIcchiazzi notched eight points to lead the Patriots to a 16-9 win over Life in the semifinals of the MSC Tournament Friday afternoon at the UC Lacrosse Complex.  With the win, the Patriots improve to 14-0 on the season and advance to the championship game of the MSC tournament. 

McCarrell's 18 saves are the second most stops in program history as 12 of her saves came in the second half.  Ricchiazzi led the way with a game-high six goals, while Emily Heim tallied four goals, two assists, five draw controls. Rachel Leigh netted a hat trick, while Stephanie Meyer scooped five ground balls and forced two turnovers.

It was a back-and-forth battle over the first several minutes, as both goalie made a save to keep the game scoreless over the first six minutes of play.  UC struck first as Heim was looking for Meyer on a cross, however, the pass connected into the cage for a goal to give the Patriots a 1-0 lead.  The Patriots extended their lead to as Andrieu connected with Meyer for a goal to make it 2-0 with 21:52 remaining.  McCarrell made a pair of saves, before the two teams traded goals making it 3-1.  Ricchiazzi dished out an assist to Heim, before netted a pair of goals to make it 6-1.  Life responded with three straight goals, before Tasie Fox finds Rachel Leigh for a man-up to make it 7-4 with 3:11 remaining.  The two teams traded goals before Heim found Leigh for a man-up goal in the closing seconds of the of the half to give UC a 9-5 edge.

Life looked to cut into the lead, however, McCarrell made a consecutive saves while Hensley converted a free position goal extend the lead to 10-5.  The Running Eagles scored four of the next give goals to make at an 11-9 with 19:21 remaining in the second half.  From that point, Cumberlands took over the game as Ricchiazzi netted four consecutive goals, over a ten minute span, to make it to 15-9 with 9:27 remaining.  Andrieu added a man-down in the closing minutes for the 16-9 final.  McCarrell made eight saves over the final 20 minutes of action to keep the Running Eagles off the board.

The Patriots advance to their second MSC Tournament Championship Game and looking for their third tournament title program history. 

Cumberlands will return to the field Saturday, April 24, when they face top-ranked Keiser in the championship match of the tournament, which takes place at the UC Lacrosse Complex.  The game is set to start at 1 p.m. with live video available here and live stats available here.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter - @UC_Patriots, Instagram - @UCPatriots, YouTube – Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.