Vermont Men's Soccer Weekly Notebook
 
The defending America East Champion Vermont men's soccer team begins its season this weekend with a pair of games. UVM takes on fellow NCAA tournament participant Cal State Fullerton on Friday afternoon at Virtue Field and then concludes the weekend on Monday night on the road at Central Connecticut.
 
Friday's home opener against the Titans will kick off at 1 p.m. while Monday's weekend finale against the Blue Devils begins at 5 p.m.
 
RELATED LINKS
Cal State Fullerton Game Coverage – Live Video (Free)
Central Connecticut Footage – Live Stats | Live Video (Free)
Burlington Free Press – Preview
2016 Vermont Men's Soccer Schedule
2015 Season Highlight Video
 
Preseason Poll
Vermont picked up two of a possible eight first-place votes to take the second spot in the America East preseason coaches' poll. Albany, last season's regular-season champion, garnered five first-place votes and is the preseason favorite in a very competitive America East.
 
2015 Rewind
Vermont is coming off a stellar championship run in 2015 that saw the Cats go unbeaten in eight of their final ten games en route to the program's fourth America East title. The Catamounts (11-7-2 in 2015) knocked off three-time defending champion UMBC in the conference semifinals on a Bernard Yeboah overtime winner and then Brian Wright sent the Catamounts to the NCAA Tournament with his game-winner against Binghamton in front of nearly 2,000 fans at Virtue Field. Wright, Stefen Lamanna and Jackson Dayton were all honored by the America East following the season. Wright landed on the all-league first-team for the second straight season while Lamanna found a spot on the second-team and Dayton was named to the All-Academic Team.
 
A Look Ahead
Leading scorer and NSCAA All-East Region First Team selection Brian Wright returns for his senior season along with fellow top scorers Stefan Lamanna and tri-captain Bernard Yeboah. Also returning for the Catamounts is graduate student midfielder Charlie DeFeo – a former All-Conference Frist-Team selection. Head Coach Jesse Cormier –entering his 13^th season at the helm – welcomes 11 newcomers to the program including eight freshman and three transfers. Cormier won his 100^th career game at UVM in the America East Championship last season.
 
Scouting the Titans
Cal State Fullerton, the preseason pick to win the Big West, represents a tough test for the Catamounts to start the season. The Titans have won back-to-back Big West Championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons. Seven Titans earned all-conference accolades last season and all seven return to the squad. CSUF boasts one of the best goalkeepers in in their program's history in the person of David Rodriguez Elias. The senior posted 12 shutouts a year ago and started all 22 games for the Titans.
 
Scouting the Blue Devils
Central Connecticut, picked to finish fourth in the Northeast Conference preseason poll, returns an experienced core to New Britain. The Blue Devils finished 6-9-2 in 2015 but did close out the season with back-to-back wins. Returning for CCSU is senior goalkeeper Nick Velleca and its top two scorers – Ryan Taylor and Louis Beddouri, both of whom were named to the NEC's All-Conference Second Team last season.
 
Series Histories
Vermont and Cal State Fullerton have played two times – both matches in Fullerton – and the Catamounts are 0-2-0 against the Titans. Monday's matchup against the Blue Devils will be the 18^th all-time between the two schools. Vermont holds a commanding 12-4-1 edge in that series including wins in three of the last five.

TRACK THE #VCATS
Fans can stay up to date on the latest news and notes around the Catamounts through a variety of platforms:
Twitter – Follow @UVMmsoccer and use the hashtag #VCats when tweeting about the Catamounts
Instagram – Follow us at Instagram.com/UVMathletics
Facebook – Like us at Facebook.com/UVMathletics
YouTube – Watch game highlights and other features at YouTube.com/UVMathletics