UVM FIELD HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont field hockey team starts its 2015 campaign on the road with a pair of games in Hempstead, N.Y. The Catamounts take on Hofstra on Friday and 1 p.m. followed by a match against Sacred Heart at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. They return to Moulton Winder Field on September 6th for their home opener against Rider at 1 p.m.
 
RELATED LINKS
CatamounTV Season Preview
Burlington Free Press Season Preview
Hofstra Live Stats
Sacred Heart Live Stats
 
PRESEASON POLL
Defending America East Champions, the Albany Great Danes, are picked to finish first in the 2015 preseason poll. UVM was ranked fourth overall in the Eastern Division and expected to reach post-season play for the first time since 2007.
 
ABOUT VERMONT
The coaching staff of head coach Kate Pfeifer and assistants Kyle Lyons and Melyssa Woods enter their second season. During their first season at UVM the team went 3-15 overall with a 1-4 conference record.
 
Pfeifer adds nine newcomers to the roster – Chelsey Cleemoff, Jenny Diehl, Carla Godsman, Olivia Hurd, Maya Karosas, Rachael Picchi, Lauren Tucker, Landon Warren and Greer Wilson. Click here to read more about them.
 
The squad returns 10 starters from last season, including senior captain and 2nd team 2014 All-Conference selection Molly Higgins, and sophomores Lena Benwood and Taylor Gaines, both All-Rookie selections in 2014. Seniors Kelsey Bonner and Aria Robinson and junior Anne-Marie Farmer will serve as captains alongside Higgins.
 
SCOUTING HOFSTRA
The last meeting between UVM and Hofstra came in 2014 during the Catamount Field Hockey Classic at Moulton Winder Field and resulted in a 4-0 loss. The Hofstra Pride concluded last season with a 12-7 record and 3-3 in Colonial Athletic Association play. With a season-finale loss to James Madison, the Dukes shut out Hofstra from CAA championship-play.
 
Hofstra returns two starters, juniors Claudia Marin Samper and Stella Schoen, both of whom were named to CAA's preseason team. A two-time National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Academic Squad member, Samper has tallied 19 goals and 10 assists while playing in all 39 games the past two seasons. Schoen tallied six goals and seven assists in 12 games last year. Simca Schoen, a sophomore, was voted the CAA Rookie of the Year and was named to the All-CAA second team after recording four goals and 11 assists in 2014. As a team, it posted a 2.95 goal percentage and were picked to finish sixth out of seven teams in the CAA preseason poll.
 
SCOUTING SACRED HEART
During the previous meeting between the Pioneers and Catamounts, Sacred Heart topped UVM in a 3-1 decision. SHU finished the season at 9-9 and 3-2 in MAAC play. The nine wins were the most the program has had since 2006 and the postseason appearance was the first for Sacred Heart since 2008.
 
They return senior goalkeeper, Mary Altepeter, who started all 18 games during the 2014 season. She recorded two shutouts with a .736 save percentage.  Leading scorer, senior Liz Bergman, returns to the lineup as well. Bergman totaled six goals and four assists for a team-high of 16 points over the course of 18 games. Senior Christine Mace was selected for the pre-season All-MAAC team while SHU is ranked fifth among seven teams in the coach's poll.

KEEP UP WITH THE CATS
There are several ways to keep up with all field hockey news, notes and results in Catamount Country:
Twitter – follow @UVMFieldhky and when tweeting about the Catamounts use the hashtag #VCats
Instagram – follow us at instagram.com/vermontcatamounts
Facebook – like us at facebook.com/vermont.catamounts
YouTube – watch game highlights and other features at youtube.com/uvmathletics
 
Catamount Score Alerts - Can't make it to a game and not near a computer, receive the final score from all games via a text message to your mobile device. Click here to sign up for the Catamount Score Alerts for field hockey and any other teams. Message and data rates may apply.
 
America East Digital Network - Watch all home games and America East games on the America East Digital Network. This season the University of Vermont is an official member of the America East Digital Network. All UVM home games and all America East road games can be seen on the network for FREE at AmericaEast.tv. Visit the field hockey schedule for links to the video streams.

eNews - Receive game summaries, releases and weekly previews for UVM field hockey delivered to your own personal email inbox by signing up for the UVM Field Hockey eNews. The service is FREE, click here to sign up today.