MEN'S LACROSSE NOTEBOOK
The Vermont men's lacrosse team (4-6, 0-3 America East) will look to get back in the win column on Saturday (April 8) as the Catamounts trek south to UMass Lowell (2-9, 0-3 America East). The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Cushing Field.
 
Fans can follow along from afar with free live video through AmericaEast.TV as well as live stats through SIDEARM Stats.
 
RELATED LINKS
Video | Live Stats
 
CATAMOUNTS RECAP
Dawes Milchling paced Vermont with four goals, but Hartford used a run of five overlapping the middle two quarters to rally back from a three-goal deficit and top the Catamounts 15-13 last Saturday (April 1) at Virtue Field. The early stages of the second stanza saw Alex Stanko score twice in 42 seconds, working the lead to 5-2 in favor of the Green and Gold. Soon after, Hartford built momentum with a run of five, including a tally for Alex Borja with only two seconds left in the half. That sent UVM into the break trailing 8-6.
 
In the fourth quarter, Milchling and Jack Knight scored for the Catamounts in the final three minutes, but in the end UVM was unable to recover from a deficit of as many of four in the 15-minute stretch. James Leary caused a pair of turnovers on the day and six Catamounts, including Leary, had at least two ground balls.
 
SCOUTING UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks are currently on a five-game slide, most recently being handed a 10-6 road setback last Saturday by UMBC. The matchup was one of runs; UMass Lowell's Martin Winter and Keenan Koswin each scored a pair of goals in a 5-0 run to start the game, but UMBC countered with nine straight to put the game out of reach. That stretch included a scoreless third quarter for the River Hawks.
 
Much of the UMass Lowell offense runs through Sean Tyrrell (12 g, 18 a) and Jon Phillips (16 g, 5 a). Fans can also expect to hear Will Puduski's name quite a bit; the junior defenseman boasts 39 ground balls and a team-best 19 caused turnovers. Sophomore goalie Grant Lardieri is averaging 10.91 saves per game which ranks second in America East. That figure is just ahead of UVM freshman Nick Washuta (10.44).
 
Head coach Ed Stephenson is in his third year guiding the River Hawks. America East is not unfamiliar territory for the Towson graduate, nor is building a Division I program. His previous stops include UMBC, Binghamton and his alma mater. In addition, he started Binghamton's program in 2001 and helped that team realize early success, capturing 10 wins in 2004.

INSIDE THE SERIES
A win on Saturday would extend UVM's winning streak against the River Hawks to three. Vermont has not lost to their cross-New England rival since the series began in 2015. The Catamounts earned an 11-9 win last year at Virtue Field in part behind seven points from Ian MacKay and 11 saves by Jon Kaplan. In the series' inaugural contest, Cam Milligan became the 12th Catamount in history to ink 10 points in a single game as UVM cruised to an 18-10 decision.
 
CATAMOUNTS CELEBRATE 40 YEARS OF VARSITY LACROSSE
Vermont men's lacrosse welcomed over 110 alumni back to Burlington last Saturday as the program celebrated 40 years of varsity status. In conjunction with the event, UVM also announced the members of the 40th Anniversary All-Time Team, which was selected exclusively by alumni. Click here to read a recap of the team.
 
Catamount Weekly, UVM Athletics' weekly newsmagazine, also profiled last weekend's festivities. Click here to watch the episode.
 
I TIP MY HAT TO YOU, SIR
Five different Catamounts have accounted for a total of 11 hat tricks throughout the 2017 season. The group includes Braiden Davis, Ben French (3), Dawes Milchling (4), Cam Milligan (2) and Alex Stanko.
 
TURN DOWN FOR WHAT?
Junior defenseman James Leary has caused 18 opponent turnovers this season (1.80/game) and leads America East in the per game column. His single-season career-high in that category is 22, set during his sophomore season in 2016.
 
Among all Division I players in New England, Leary is second in the same column behind only Issac Paparo of Massachusetts (1.89). Across the entire country, Leary is 15th.
 
SHORT-TERM OR LONG-TERM, IT'S GOOD TO HAVE GOALS
In last Saturday's matchup with Hartford, freshmen Matt Palmer and Liam Rischmann broke into the goal column, inking the box score in the first and second quarters, respectively. Additionally, senior defensemen Ben Cox scored for the first time this season.
 
BENNIE AND THE JETS
Ben French has notched a team-high 20 goals after finding the cage in six of his first 10 games as a Catamount. That included five-goal performances against both Holy Cross (Feb. 18) and Dartmouth (Feb. 28) and has helped the Toronto, Ontario product post an average of an even two per game. That statistic is tied for 13th in the nation among all freshmen and is third of all America East rookies.

UVM ANNOUNCES 2017 CAPTAINS
Seniors Ben Cox, Cam Milligan and Ian MacKay, along with junior James Leary and redshirt junior Hayden Jenkins will captain the Catamounts this season.
 
WELCOME TO VERMONT, COACH
The seventh head coach in program history, Chris Feifs arrives in Burlington following a seven-year run at North Carolina as defensive coordinator and faceoff coach. During his time in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels captured the 2016 NCAA National Championship and were ACC regular season co-champions on two occasions. In 2013, UNC claimed the conference title.
 
He also spent two seasons in an assistant coaching capacity at VMI and played his collegiate lacrosse at Maryland, becoming the first scholarship athlete from North Carolina to play lacrosse for the Terrapins.
 
FEIFS ANNOUNCES COACHING STAFF
Jake Bernhardt and Chris Miller have also come to the Green Mountain State as assistant coaches under Feifs, while Brian Kavanagh has joined the Catamounts as a volunteer assistant. Bernhardt plays professionally for the Ohio Machine of Major League Lacrosse and scored 14 goals last season en route to an appearance in the MLL Championship Game. Miller was most recently associate head coach at Washington College (Maryland) and, from 2008-10, worked with Feifs as an assistant at VMI.
 
A 2014 graduate of Princeton and former goalie with the Tigers, Kavanagh made eight appearances in his career and was part of a 2012 team that reached the Ivy League Championship and ultimately punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
 
NEXT UP
The Green and Gold return home next Saturday (April 15) for a 1 p.m. Senior Day matchup against Stony Brook. Prior to opening faceoff the Catamounts will recognize each member of their senior class.