Williamsburg, KY –  With 21 seconds left in double overtime, the MSC Player of the Year, Bella Ricchiazzi, found Carolina Johnson in front of the cage for the game-winning goal to give the second-ranked Patriots a 13-12 win over seventh-ranked Life in the semifinals of the MSC Tournament Friday afternoon at the UC Lacrosse Complex. That goal completed UC's comeback as overcame a five goals deficit with 4:34 left in the third quarter to advance to their third consecutive MSC championship game Saturday.

"This team always believed and showed enormous resiliency this afternoon," said Head Coach Kelly Buikus.  "This is a special group that is gritty and played until the final whistle, and it was a tremendous team effort."

Johnson tied her career-high with four goals and set a new career-high with six points, while Ricchiazzi notched three goals and a game-high five assists to become the Patriots' career leader in assists with 154, breaking the previous mark of 152.  Reegan Hensley and Rachel Leigh tallied three and two points, respectfully.

UC goalie Olivia McCarrell made a career-high 19 saves, including nine in the second half and two in double overtime, to anchor the defense.  The 19 stops are the second-most saves in a game in program history as the sophomore also tallied three caused turnovers and three ground balls.  The Patriots got strong efforts from Jael Cobb, who was critical in the transition game, as Christina Min finished with two caused turnovers and four ground balls.

Trailing by five with 4:34 left in the third quarter, UC began to rally as McCarrell made a save, and on the ensuing transition, Ricchiazzi put a well-placed shot into the cage to cut the deficit to 12-8.  The Seymour, TN native, added two more saves, both off free position attempts as the game moved into the fourth quarter with UC still trailing by four.

Ricchazzi found Johnson for a goal roughly two minutes into the fourth quarter as UC pulled within three.  Trinity Brown won the following draw control and on the ensuing possession, Leigh converted a free position making it 12-10 with 12:57 remaining.  McCarrell notched her second save of the fourth quarter before Hensley found Ricchiazzi for a goal midway through the quarter to bring Cumberlands within one at 12-11.  Both defenses continued to be aggressive as nether team was able to convert a goal over the next six minutes.  Coming out of a timeout with 43 seconds left in regulation, Brown went 105 yards coast-to-coast and fired a shot into the upper right-hand corner of the cage for the equalizer, tying the game 12-12 with 25 seconds left.
 

In overtime, Cobb and Hensley each forced a turnover to prevent the Running Eagles from scoring, while Katie Wharton's shot in the closing seconds sailed high to force a second overtime. 

Once again, the Patriots called upon McCarrell, who stopped a pair of Life free position shots to keep the game tied with a minute remaining.  After a successful clear, Ricchiazzi had the ball behind the cage as Johnson made a cut in front of the cage for a one-on-one and fired the shot into the top right corner for the game-winning goal. 
 

"I know they were going to guard me close and we were waiting for an opportunity as I saw Carolina made a fantastic move to get open and once she made that shot the feeling was euphoric," said Ricchiazzi.

Life opened the game scoring four of the first five goals of the contest and outscored UC 5-1 in the second quarter to take a 10-5 lead into
halftime. 

This is Cumberlands first overtime win in postseason history as it also marks UC's first postseason overtime game in program history. 

The Patriots will face Keiser in a rematch of the past two MSC Championships, with each school coming away with one tournament win.  That game is set for 1 p.m. with live video available here.

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