BURLINGTON, Vt. – Freshman Julia Smith notched two goals for her first career multi-goal game to lift the Catamounts to a 2-1 win over Yale Sunday afternoon at Virtue Field to close a five-game homestand.
 
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With the win, Vermont improved to 3-2-1 on the season while Yale fell to 3-2-2.
 
In the fourth minute, Alex Jenkins gathered the ball in the midfield and fed a through ball towards Smith. Two Yale defenders failed to corral the ball in front of Smith and she was able to dribble in alone against goalkeeper Alyssa Fagel. Smith coasted into the box before firing a hard low shot toward the far post to give the Catamounts an early advantage.
 
Aided by the wind in the first half, the Bulldogs pressed for an equalizer. They earned eight corners and had several opportunities but Vermont's Coco Speckmaier made two saves to preserve UVM's lead headed into halftime.
 
In the 76th minute, Smith struck again to give the Catamounts a 2-0 advantage. Casey Garfinkel fed a perfect cross through the box and Smith one-timed the feed into the back left corner past Yale's Jane Buckley, who took over at halftime, for her fifth goal of the season.
 
The Bulldogs pulled one back in the 80th minute. Michelle Alozie beat a Vermont offside trap with a through ball to send Aerial Chavarin in alone. Chavarin avoided a diving Speckmaier and placed it into the net for her team-leading fourth goal of the season.
 
The Bulldogs pressed in the final minutes for an equalizer but couldn't get another goal. Vermont closed out its season-long five game homestand with a record of 3-1-1.
 
The Catamounts return to action next weekend as they travel to South Carolina for a pair of games. Vermont will face The Citadel at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16 and then Charleston Southern on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m.