Kansas City, MO – A week after taking part in their fourth consecutive NAIA National Championship, four Patriots were honored for their performances throughout the season as NAIA All-Americans, the national office announced Monday.  Bella Ricchiazzi highlighted the honorees as she was named the NAIA National Player of the Year, becoming the second Patriot to earn this honor.

Ricchiazzi was voted the NAIA Player of the Year after leading Cumberlands to an 18-3 record, the Mid-South Conference North Division title, and their fourth consecutive trip to the NAIA National Tournament.  On the year she recorded 100 goals, 61 assists, and 161 points all of which ranked second in the NAIA, while she finished third on the team with 27 caused turnovers and fourth on the team scooping 38 ground balls.  The Framingham, MA native has rewritten the Patriots record books as she became the program's all-time leader in points and with 422 and 158, respectively, while closing out the season ranked second in program history for assists and points, while becoming just the third Patriot to surpass the century mark in goals for a season.

"It's amazing to be able to say our best overall player is also one of our hardest workers. Bella eats, breathes and sleeps lacrosse and is dedicated to this team in every way possible," said Coach Buikus. "She truly keeps a team first mentality and it's so nice to see her get this recognition. She has done so much for our program and I'm just so proud of Bella and she is so deserving of this award."

The junior was involved in some of the Patriots biggest moments on the season, including notching ten points and the game-winning goal in UC's 13-12 win over than top-ranked Keiser.  Ricchiazzi dished out seven assists and tallied a career-high 14 points against tenth-ranked Georgetown and became the Patriots career points leader in the second matchup against the Tigers.  In the MSC Tournament, Ricchiaizzi added three goals and five assists, including finding Carolina Johnson for the game-winning goal in the semifinals win over Life, before tallying ten points in the championship game.  Ricchiazzi joins Samantha Tullar, who earned it in 2018 as the Patriots NAIA Players of the Year.

Trinity Brown and Olivia McCarrell were named NAIA First Team All-Americans, while Reegan Hensley was a NAIA Second Team All-American selection.  Brown becomes the first Patriot in program history to be named a First Team All-American three times and just the second three-time All-American.  The MSC Defensive Player of the Year had a career season with a program record 167 draw controls and 53 caused turnovers, while her 50 ground balls were fourth most.  The Fayetteville, GA native led the NAIA in draw controls on the year and finished third in caused turnovers, while becoming the first UC player to collect over 100 caused turnovers for their career.  Brown scooped at least ten draw controls in seven games and tallied a career-high 14 draw controls twice.  She anchored the Cumberlands backline that finished the season second in the NAIA limiting opponents to 5.78 goals per game, while she set a conference record becoming the first player to earn defensive player of the week honors five times in a season.

For the second consecutive season, McCarrell was named a First Team All-American goalie.  The sophomore led the NAIA with a 54.9% save percentage on the season and her 17 wins were the most in the NAIA.   The Seymour, TN native held the opposition to a 6.17 goals against average on the year, which was a program and career-best mark.  McCarrell made 130 saves on the year, which is third most in UC history, including a career-high 19 saves in Cumberlands double-overtime win over Life in the semifinals of the NAIA Tournament.  She also scooped 51 ground balls, which was a team-best on the year and finishes second in Patriots history. This marks the fourth consecutive season that Cumberlands has had the NAIA First Team All-American goalie.

A breakout season has led to Reegan Hensley garnering Second Team All-American honors.  The sophomore tallied 57 goals, 25 assists, and 82 points to finish second on the team in goals and points, while chipping in 21 caused turnovers and 20 ground balls.  Hensley closed out the season ranked fifth in the MSC in goals and scored a goal 20 games, while tallying at least a hat trick in ten games.  The Sevierville, TN native tallied a  career-high four assists and ten points in the win over Thomas More and recorded a hattrick in the NAIA quarterfinals against Benedictine.  In the MSC semifinals win over Life, Hensley notched three caused turnovers and scooped four ground balls, while adding three points in the double overtime win.

Cumberlands closed out the season with an 18-3 record, including a perfect 6-0 mark in conference play.  UC advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA tournament and set program records for caused turnovers, goals against average, assists, points, and draw controls.

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