FINAL SCORE: No. 18 Albany 4, Vermont 1
BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Catamounts played a tough defensive first half but the 18th-ranked Albany Great Danes used three goals in the second half to edge UVM 4-1 in the America East home opener on Sunday afternoon. 
 
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Vermont falls to 4-7 on the season and 0-2 in the young conference slate. Albany improves to an even 5-5 overall and 2-1 in league play.
 
The Great Danes jumped to a 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest. Dana Bozek was dribbling on the end line and dished a pass into the circle to Ghislaine Beerkens, who clubbed a line drive into the left side of the cage.
 
Landon Warren tried to answer for the Catamounts in the eighth minute.  Warren pushed the ball up the right side of the field while fending off an Albany defender. The junior ripped a shot towards the near post but Great Danes goalie Melissa Nealon (4 saves) used her blocker to make the save.
 
The score remained 1-0 until the 52nd minute when Beerkens added her second goal of the afternoon. Katie MacCallum marched into the circle and flicked a pass in front of the cage for Beerkens to knock in a one-timer.
 
MacCallum recorded a goal of her own three minutes later. Camryn Dias lined a close-range shot that was initially stopped by Nealon, but MacCallum was positioned on the right side of the cage and tapped in the rebound.
 
In the 62nd minute, Frederike Helmke provided Albany's final goal of the afternoon on a penalty stroke. On the shot, Helmke snuck her attempt under the stick of UVM goalie Lena Benwood (8 saves) and into the bottom left corner of the cage.
 
The Catamounts used a penalty corner to their advantage in the 68th minute. On the corner, Claudia Cotter passed to the top of the circle to Jackie Gillen, who launched a shot towards the left side of the cage but her attempt was stopped by Nealon. Warren gathered the rebound and chipped a backhand under the crossbar for her 10th goal of the season.
 
Vermont makes the trip to Maine on Sunday (Oct. 8) at 1 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and the watchESPN app by logging in with your cable provider.