Kansas City, MO – For the fourth straight season, the University of the Cumberlands women's lacrosse team will be among the eight teams that have qualified for the NAIA National Championships.  The Patriots earned the third-seed for an at-large berth and will face sixth-seed Benedictine in the quarterfinals Wednesday, May 4, at 4 p.m.

UC heads into the championship with an 18-2 record after finishing runner-up in the MSC Tournament.  The Patriots have excelled at both ends of the field as they lead the NAIA in six statistical categories.  Cumberlands has netted 389 goals and dished out 226 assists both of which ranks first in the country.  Defensively, UC leads the NAIA in draw controls (358), goals-against-average (5.37), and save percentage (55.1%).

The Patriots are lead by Bella Ricchiazzi, Trinity Brown, and Olivia McCarrell.  Ricchiazzi has recorded 98 goals, 60 assists, and 148 points all of which rank second in the NAIA.  Reegan Hensley and Stephanie Meyer have tallied 79 points a pieces to be three of the six Patriots with at least 50 points on the year.  Brown leads the NAIA in draw controls with 162 and has set Cumberlands season record with 52 caused turnovers and 50 ground balls.  McCarrell has recorded double-digit saves in three of the last four games and he leads the NAIA with a 5.68 goals-against average and a 56.7% save percentage.

Benedictine earned the sixth-seed as KCAC regular season and tournament champions.  The Ravens are 13-1 on the season and have won nine straight games, including a 20-6 win over St. Ambrose in the KCAC tournament championship game.  Benedictine is lead by Natalie Wechter, the 2021 NAIA Player of the Year, that has tallied 110 points and 136 caused turnovers.  The Ravens seven players with at least 10 points this season and have limited opponents to 5.57 goals per game, which ranks second in the NAIA this season.

This will be the second time that Cumberlands and Benedictine will meet at nationals. The duo faced off in the semifinals of the 2019 championship with Benedictine winning that meeting 14-10.

The winner of the Patriots-Ravens match-up will face the winner of #2 Keiser and #7 SCAD in the semifinals, which is set for Thursday, May 5^th, at 7 p.m.  The other side of the bracket features top-seed Lawrence Tech taking on Siena Heights, while Life and Reinhardt will meet in the four-five game.

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