Kansas City, MO – Patriots attacker Bella Ricchiazzi, who has rewritten the record books, closes out her career by making NAIA history as the Framingham, MA native became the first player to be earn the NAIA Women's Lacrosse National Player of the Year twice, the national office announced Tuesday.  Ricchiazzi was also joined by five teammates that earned NAIA All-American honors as Cumberlands led the way with six All-Americans.

Joining Ricchiazzi as First Team All-Americans are Olivia McCarrell, who garnered the honor for the third straight season, along with freshman Koral Hadac and Emma Rittman.  Reegan Hensley captures NAIA Second Team All-American honors for the second consecutive season, while Christina Min also named as an All-American.

Ricchiazzi earned the top honor in consecutive seasons, after leading the country in goals, assists, and points, while tallying 36 ground balls and 29 caused turnovers.  The senior tallied at least four points in every game this season, including reaching double-digit point total five times.  Ricchiazzi broke the NAIA Tournament record by netting eight goals and tied the tournament record with ten points in the quarterfinals against SCAD, which earned her NAIA All-Tournament honors.  That capped off an incredible season, in which she tallied 95 goals, 49 assists, and 144 points.  Ricchiazzi netted at least five goals in 11 games, and had 15 multi-assist game, including a season-high six assists against St. Andrews. The senior came up big in the biggest games as she tallied six points, including the game-winning goal in overtime in Cumberlands 17-16 overtime win at Reinhardt, a win that helped the Patriots clinch the AAC regular season title. 

This caps on of the most decorated career's in Cumberlands women's lacrosse history.  Ricchiazzi is two-time NAIA Player of the Year, four-time NAIA All-American, two-time Conference Player of the Year, and a four-time First-Team All-Conference selection.  The Framingham, MA native was also the 2022 IWLCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, 2021 MSC Offensive Player of the Year, and the 2019 MSC Freshman of the Year.  Ricchiazzi is the career leader in goals with 359, assists with 207, and points with 566, while she ranks second all-time with 154 ground balls and 94 caused turnovers. 

McCarrell is the NAIA First-Team All-American goalie for the third straight season.  The Seymour, TN tallied 98 saves, and posted a 51.0% save percentage and a 7.80 GAA on the season to help lead the Patriots.  The junior made at least five saves in 11 games, including a season-high 17 saves in Cumberlands overtime win against Reinhardt.  McCarrell also added 12 saves against fourth-ranked Life, a performance that help her be named the NAIA Defensive Player of the Week.  The junior notched her 400^th career save in the NAIA quarterfinals against SCAD as part of her nine save performance, while she has a career save percentage of .570.  McCarrell is part of Cumberlands defense that led the NAIA with a 5.59 goals against average. 

Rittman caps off an impressive debut season with the First Team All-American honors.  Rittman scooped a NAIA-best 160 draw controls, which is ranked second in program history, while she tallied a program record 86 ground balls on the year.  The Pickerington, OH native also led the AAC with 37 caused turnovers to go along with 44 goals, 21 assists, and 65 points on the year. Rittman was the AAC Defensive Player of the Year along with the AAC Freshman of the Year, while she named the NAIA Defensive Player of the Week three times.  She etched her named in the program record books with 13 ground balls against Tennessee Wesleyan, while she tallied double-digit draw controls in five games, including 12 in the NAIA quarterfinals against SCAD.  Rittman was a dual threat as her 65 points were third most on the team.

Hadac earned NAIA First-Team All-American honors after a dominating year for the Red and Navy.  The freshman recorded 93 draw controls, 56 ground balls, 34 caused turnovers and 12 points on the season.  Hadac finished the year ranked seventh in the NAIA in draw controls and 13^th in caused turnovers, while she finished second on the team.  The Rosemount, MN native scooped a career-high 12 draw controls against Montreat and Truett-McConnell.  Hadac forced multiple caused turnovers in eight games, including a season-high five caused turnovers in the AAC semifinal shutout win over Tennessee Wesleyan.   The freshman dished out nine assists, including three against Brenau, while she netted her first collegiate goal in that win too.  Hadac was part of Cumberlands defense limited opponents to 5.59 goals per game.
 

For the second straight year, Hensley notched NAIA Second-Team All-American honors.  The junior was second on the team with 47 goals, 33 assists, and 80 points.  Hensley ranked seventh in the NAIA in assists, while her 80 points are 12^th most in the country.  The Sevierville, TN native tallied 13 multi-goal games on the season, including notching a career-high six goals, five assists and 11 points in the win over (RV) Ave Maria.  Hensley tallied four second-half goals in the NAIA quarterfinals against SCAD, while she also closed out the season with 28 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers. Hensley tallied her 100 career goal earlier this season, making her the sixth Patriot to accomplish that, while she is ranked sixth in program history with 65 assists and 196 career points. 

After playing a significant role in the Patriots shutdown defense, Min earned Second-Team All-American accolades.  The sophomore compiled 34 ground balls, 15 caused turnovers and five draw controls on the season.  Min tallied a season-high four caused turnovers and three ground balls in the win over (RV) Georgetown, while she scooped a season-high six ground balls in the overtime win over Reinhardt.  Min was a key part of the Patriots defense that posted a NAIA-best 5.59 goals against average with two shutouts.

UC's six All-American selections are the most by any team in the NAIA and the most Patriots All-American since the 2018 season.  Cumberlands finished the season with a 16-3 record, including capturing the AAC regular season title. It was the fifth consecutive year that UC have captured at least a share of the regular season conference championship.

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