WOMEN'S LACROSSE NOTEBOOK
Vermont (4-1) looks to continue its hot start with a trip to Winthrop (1-6) on Thursday morning (March 14). The opening draw is set for 11 a.m.
 
CATS ON E+
All of the action can be seen on ESPN+ with a paid subscription. Fans can access ESPN+ with a seven-day free trial, followed by a subscription fee of $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with the ability to cancel at any time.
 
RELATED LINKS
Video | Live Stats
 
AMERICA EAST WEEKLY HONORS
Jenna Janes and Grace Giancola earned America East weekly honors on Monday. Janes was named Offensive Player of the Week while Giancola collected a Rookie of the Week nod. Janes matched a career-high with seven points in Sunday's 18-9 win at East Carolina. The Baltimore, Maryland native scored a game-high five goals and handed out two assists. Giancola added three points to the scoring column with one goal and two assists against the Pirates. She won a game-high nine draw controls, the most draw controls by a UVM player since Vanessa VanderZalm recorded 11 draws at Marist on Feb. 28, 2016.
 
NEW ASSISTS RECORD
Alex Vignona also had a big scoring day at ECU. She was credited with seven assists and broke the school's single-game assists record. The senior ranks fourth nationally with 3.40 assists per game and has registered the ninth-most total assists (17) in Division I.
 
DEFENSE IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
UVM's 4-1 record through five games is the best five-game start since 2014. The 2014 Cats opened the season with five consecutive wins and gave up an average of 6.8 goals per game in the five victories. This year's Catamounts have allowed a similar 8.8 goals per game through the first five contests – the lowest goals-against average since 2014.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The Catamounts will spend seven of their first nine games of the season. Thursday's matchup is the turning point of a five-game road trip and the Green and Gold have an unblemished 3-0 mark away from home this year.
 
SCOUTING WINTHROP
The Eagles struggled to begin the 2019 campaign with six consecutive setbacks but rebounded with an 11-7 win over former Big South rival Coastal Carolina last Wednesday. Winthrop had high expectations coming into the season as the Big South's head coaches picked the Eagles to finish third in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. Winthrop also landed a pair of athletes on the Big South Preseason All-Conference Team – seniors Aliana Girani and Emily Torris. Girani has spent all 420 minutes in goal this season and has recorded a .439 save percentage. Torris currently paces the team with 14 caused turnovers and sits third with nine ground balls. On the offensive end, sophomore Lauren Morris has accrued 21 points on 16 goals and five assists to lead the team.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Thursday's early bird special will be the second-ever meeting between the two programs. The foes met back in 2015 at Winthrop as the home team walked away with a 17-4 win. The Eagles would later win the Big South crown and move onto the NCAA Tournament.