SAVANNAH, Ga. – [Schedule] [Bracket] The top two seeds in the NAIA Women’s Lacrosse Championship have advanced to the championship game of the 2021 NAIA Women’s Lacrosse National Championships Friday at Memorial Stadium.  No. 1 Keiser (Fla.) defeated No. 5 Lawrence Tech (Mich.) 13-5, while No. 2 Cumberlands (Ky.) posted an 11-10 win over No. 6 Life (Ga.).  It sets up a rematch of the Mid-South Conference championship game, in which Keiser won 12-6.

Game Notes/Highlights

No. 1 Keiser (Fla.) def. No. 5 Lawrence Tech (Mich.) 13-8

• Keiser was off to a fast start netting two goals within 25 seconds of each other to take the early 2-0 lead. 
• Lawrence Tech answered with a pair of goals, including a man-down goal by Ashley Sherry to even the score at the 20:09 mark. 
• Madison Andrews netted three consecutive goals, over a nine-minute span, to record a hat trick and put the Seahawks in front 5-2. 
• The Blue Devils netted three of the next four goals as Kaitlyn Waligora tallied a goal and an assist during that run which made it a 6-5 game in favor of the Seahawks.  Keiser closed out the half with goals from Cat Raymond and Melanie Brown to take a 8-5 lead into the break.
• Huber extended Keiser’s lead with a goal to open the second half.  Lawrence Tech battled back as Kady Waits notched a goal and an assist to cut the score to 9-7 midway through the second half.
• The Seahawks went on a four-goal run, including two from Raymond, to extended their lead and eventually held on for the 13-8 final.
• Madison Andrews led the way for Keiser with four goals and a pair of assists, while Cat Raymond netted four goals. Madalyn Huber led the defense with three caused turnovers, five draw controls, and six ground balls, while Jessica Covell made 10 saves.
• The Blue Devils are led by Abbey Smentowski and Kady Waits who each netted two goals.  Jenna Wright tallied four caused turnovers and scooped a pair of ground balls as Dorie Coggin made a game-high 12 saves.
• Keiser advances to the national championship game for the first time in program history.

No. 2 Cumberlands (Ky.) def. No. 6 Life (Ga.) 11-10

• The two teams traded goals to open the game before Tina Ricci scored three of the next four goals to give Life a 5-1 lead.
• Cumberlands battled back as Trinity Brown scored twice in a three-minute span to cut the Patriots deficit to 5-3 with 6:08 remaining in the first half.  The two teams traded goals before Bella Ricchiazzi found the back of the cage with 1 second left in the half giving Life a 7-6 lead at the half.
• Emily Heim notched a pair of goals within the first two minutes of the second half giving the Patriots the first lead of the game at 8-7.  Cumberlands added two more goals extending their lead to 10-7 with 24:00 minutes remaining.
• The Running Eagles battled back with a pair of goals midway through the second half making it a one-goal game at 10-9 in favor of Cumberlands.  Heim added a man-up goal to extend the Patriots lead to two, however, Skylar Clum added a goal in the closing seconds for the 11-10 final.
• Olivia McCarrell led the way for the Patriots with 17 saves, while Bella Ricchiazzi tallied four points and five draw controls as Emily Heim notched a hattrick.  Trinity Brown added three caused turnovers to go along with two goals.
• For Life, Tina Ricci, Tori Adcox, and Brianna Freeman each recorded a hat trick in the game.  Ricci also scooped four ground balls, while Leanne Windon tallied three caused turnovers.
• Cumberlands advances to the national championship game for the first time in program history.