FINAL SCORE (OT): #18 Syracuse 4, Vermont 3
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont took a 3-2 lead into the fourth quarter behind a pair of goals from freshman Kate Hall and three points from junior Sydney Melfi, but the 18th-ranked Syracuse Orange tallied the final two goals to take a 4-3 overtime win to open the 2019 season Friday afternoon at Moulton Winder Field.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | CatamounTV Highlights

COACH'S QUOTE
"I'm proud of the character our players showed today," head coach Kate Pfeifer said. "They battled; they responded after conceding a goal in the first minute, and managed challenging moments time and time again. The match could habe gone either way - and the effort and mentality of this group is really promising."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Orange jumped to a 1-0 lead just 1:03 into the game as Carolin Hoffman found the back of the net to the right of UVM goalie Sierra Espeland.
• The Catamounts wasted no time bringing the score back to even at 1-1 as Hall tipped Melfi's pass over the goal line just over three minutes later.
• Hall added her second collegiate goal in her debut just two minutes later to give Vermont a 2-1 lead early in the opening quarter.
• Syracuse's SJ Quigley re-tied the game at 2-2 with just under seven minutes remaining in the opening quarter to cap the scoring volley.
• Melfi added her first goal of the season halfway through the second quarter to push Vermont's lead back to 3-2.
• A back-and-forth pace set in for the remainder of the second quarter and continued through the third quarter. Syracuse freshman Charlotte DeVries found the equalizer on the Orange's second consecutive penalty corner with 6:37 left in regulation.
• DeVries added her second of the game halfway through the first overtime period to give the Orange the season-opening win.

GAME NOTES:

• Espeland finished the game with seven saves for the Catamounts. Syracuse's Sarah Sinck made five saves in 50:31 of gameplay and Syd Taylor made a pair of saves in 15:00 of gameplay.
• With a goal and an assist today, Melfi now has five points in two career games against the Orange.
• Junior Laura Zavrl picked up her first collegiate assist on Hall's second goal of the afternoon.

UP NEXT
Vermont hits the road for the first time in 2019 to take on the Stags of Fairfield on Friday, Sept. 6. The game is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. at University Field in Fairfield, Connecticut.