WOMEN'S SOCCER NOTEBOOK
Vermont (4-4-1, 0-0-0) welcomes conference play and its twin state rival New Hampshire (7-3-0, 1-0-0) on Thursday (Sept. 28). Action gets underway at 7 p.m. under the lights of Virtue Field. Single game tickets are available at UVMathletics.com/Tickets or at the Gutterson Fieldhouse Box Office on gameday. Free live video will be available in HD at AmericaEast.TV.
 
RELATED LINKS
New Hampshire: Video | Live Stats | Tickets

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PROMOTIONS
Thursday's rivalry match with New Hampshire is also Queen City Night - kids wearing a Queen City jersey will receive free tickets to the game. 
 
SETTING THE SCENE
The Catamounts roll into the league slate with the second-most non-conference wins during head coach Kristi Lefebvre's tenure, trailing only the 2016 Cats with five wins. UVM has a pair of its own on the league's scoring list. Sarah Martin is tied for eighth place with eight points (4 goals) while Brooke Jenkins resides in 10th place with seven points (3 goals, 1 assist). Coco Speckmaier is tied for second place among America East goalies with 53 saves and the senior holds a share of third place with two clean sheets under her belt.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UVM suffered a 4-1 loss at Bryant on Friday afternoon in the non-conference finale. Ella Bankert helped UVM get on the scoreboard with her third goal of the season in the 74th minute. Martin dished a cross that was deflected by a Bulldog defender, but the freshman was in the right place at the right time to finish the loose ball.

SUCCESS IN CONFERENCE HOME OPENERS
The Green and Gold will be looking to secure a win in its fourth straight America East home opener on Thursday night. Vermont beat UMass Lowell 1-0 in overtime a year ago and used another 1-0 victory to defeat Stony Brook in 2015. The streak started with a 2-1 outing against UMBC back in 2014.  

ALL-TIME COACHING RECORDS
Lefebvre has tallied 37 wins during her tenure with the Catamounts and she is only four wins shy of tying Jodi Kenyon for second place on the program's all-time wins list. In her first season at the helm in 2011, the Catamounts earned a berth into the America East Tournament for the first time in five years and she has guided the Green and Gold to three semifinals appearances during her time in Burlington – the most by a Vermont head coach.

SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Wildcats come to Burlington with a three-game winning streak and UNH has also won four out of its last five games. In this year's America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, New Hampshire was picked to finish third and received a first-place vote. UNH also has one of the top scorers in the league in senior forward Brooke Murphy. After breaking the school record for most career goals two weeks ago, Murphy ranks second in America East with 13 points and six goals. Sophomore midfielder Liz Lane is tied for third in the conference with three assists, including two assists in the Wildcats' 2-1 victory over Binghamton on Sunday in the league opener. Senior goalkeeper Mia Neas owns a .864 save percentage which ranks 26th in the country and she has recorded two shutouts during UNH's current winning streak.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
The Catamounts will try to inch closer in the all-time series as UVM trails 15-19-5. The Green and Gold are looking for their first win over the Wildcats since 2011, but the Cats have come close in recent years as two out of the last four meetings needed double overtime. Last year, the twin state rivals battled to a 2-2 tie in Durham, New Hampshire.

WHO'S NEXT
Vermont will face its first conference road test of the season at Binghamton on Sunday (Oct. 1) at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available for the contest at BUBearcats.com.
 
Almartin Volvo is the presenting sponsor of the 2017 women's soccer season.