Kansas City, MO – The UC women's lacrosse team made history this season advancing to the national championship game for the first time.  The Patriots success came in part to excelling on both ends of the field, which led to Cumberlands pacing the NAIA All-American selections with a NAIA-best four First Team All-Americans, announced by the national office.   

Trinity Brown repeated as a First Team All-American, while Bella Ricchiazzi and Emily Heim both earned their second All-American accolade, while it marks the first time being named First Team.  Joining that trio on the first team list is freshman goalie Olivia McCarrell.  All four of these student-athletes were named to the NAIA All-Tournament Team.

Brown recorded career-high 25 caused turnovers, and 63 draw controls to go along with scooping 33 ground balls and 12 points to earn her second All-American honor of her career.  Brown tallied at least three caused turnovers in a game four times, including a season-high four caused turnovers in the win over Lawrence Tech.  The sophomore also scooped multiple ground balls 10 times, including having four ground balls, three caused turnovers and five draw controls in the NAIA quarterfinals win over SCAD.  The Fayetteville, GA native was also a key part of the Patriots draw controls as she won a career-high 11 draw controls against Thomas More, while she also notched two goals and an assist in that win.  Brown was part of the Patriots backline that limited opponents to 5.78 goals per game.   

Ricchiazzi earned First Team honors after leading the NAIA in goals (81), points (119), and points per game (6.61).  The sophomore finished tied for the team-lead in assists with 38 to go along with 41 ground balls, 20 caused turnovers, and 38 draw controls on the season.  Ricchiazzi netted at least three goals in a game 15 times this season, including a career-high eight in the quarterfinals win over SCAD.  The reigning MSC Offensive Player of the Year dished out 14 multi-assists games, including four assists against Ave Maria and Georgetown.  Ricchiazzi also notched four caused turnovers, six draw controls and four ground balls in the win at Thomas More, while she scooped a season-high five ground balls twice.  Ricchiazzi became just the fifth Patriot to surpass 100 career goals earlier this season.

As one of the most versatile players on the field, Heim garnered her second All-American honor.  Heim put together an impressive season with a career-high 53 goals to go along with 38 assists, 91 points, 82 draw controls, and 40 ground balls.  The junior netted multiple goals in 17 of UC's 18 games this season, including a season-high five in the win over Georgetown.  Heim also tied the program record of seven assists in a game with seven during the MSC quarterfinals win over Webber International. During the NAIA tournament, Heim recorded 10 goals, 13 draw controls, and five ground balls.  Heim also was critical to the Patriots defense scooping at least four draw controls in 11 games and posting ten multi-ground ball performances.  Heim notched a season-high 10 draw controls twice, while notching three caused turnovers in three different games.  Heim is the Patriots all-time leader in assists, caused turnovers, and draw controls.

McCarrell put together a standout freshman campaign to earn NAIA First Team All-American honors.  McCarrell led the NAIA in saves with 172, while posting a NAIA-best 0.635 save percentage and her 5.50 goals against average ranks third in the country this season. Additionally, McCarrell led the Patriots with 46 ground balls and recorded 16 caused turnovers on the year.  The Seymour, TN averaged 9.56 saves per game on the season and had eight games of recording at least 13 or more saves.  During the MSC tournament and national championships, McCarrell averaged 16.2 saves per game over UC's final five games.  She opened the season with a 13 save performance against Ave Maria, before notching consecutive 15 save efforts against Georgetown and Life, which earned her NAIA Defensive Player of the Week honors.  Overall, McCarrell notched a career-high 18 saves against Life in MSC semifinals and SCAD in the NAIA quarterfinals.  McCarrell also aided Cumberlands to a pair of shutouts this season.                                                                             

It marks the third straight year that UC has place four student-athletes on the First Team list.

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