FIELD HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
The Vermont Catamounts (1-2) host Brown University (1-2) on its annual Rally Against Cancer game presented by Inspired Closets on Friday (Sept. 13) at Moulton Winder Field before facing 18th-ranked Stanford (4-3) on Sunday (Sept. 15) in Durham, New Hampshire.  

Friday's game will stream through CatamounTV for free while Sunday's contest will have live stats available through the University of New Hampshire's website.

RELATED LINKS
Friday: Live Video
Sunday: Live Stats
 
NEW SEASON, NEW RULES
The NCAA has shifted from two 35-minute halves to four 15-minute quarters for the 2019 season. In conjunction with the change, the game clock will be frozen during all penalty corner stoppages.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Brown enters Friday's contest with a 1-2 record after opening the season with a 3-0 win against Bryant followed by a 3-0 road loss to Providence and 6-0 home loss to 18th-ranked Stanford.
 
Allee Ayles has started all three games in net and holds a 2.91 goals against average and a .652 save percentage.
 
The Bears finished the 2018 season with a 7-10 overall record and a 1-6 record in the Ivy League.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Vermont and Brown meet for the first time since 2013, when the Catamounts fell to the Bears 3-1 in Burlington. Brown holds a 14-8 all-time series edge over Vermont.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINAL
Stanford enters Sunday with a 4-3 record and opened the season with losses against Northwestern and fourth-ranked Connecticut before wins over Qunnipiac, seventh-ranked Michigan, and most recently Brown. The Cardinal fell short in their home opener against 15th-ranked Northwestern in a shootout. The Cardinal beat Brown 6-0 on Tuesday (Sept. 10) before knocking off 10th-ranked Harvard 2-1 in a shootout on Thursday (Sept. 12). On Friday, the New Hampshire Wildcats took a 3-2 home win over Stanford, snapping the Cardinal's four-game winning streak.

Kelsey Bing has started all seven games in goal and holds a 1.82 goals against average and .806 save percentage. Corinne Zanolli leads the team with nine goals and 19 points. Sarah Johnson is second on the team in scoring with 10 points and leads the team with six assists.
 
Stanford finished the 2018 season with a 14-6 overall record and 5-1 America East record, falling to Maine in the conference semifinal.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Vermont and Stanford meet for the third time in series history and first time since 2015 on Sunday. Stanford won both games against Vermont at neutral sites: in Boston and at Syracuse. Stanford takes on Harvard this afternoon and New Hampshire tomorrow afternoon.
 
ESPELAND EARNS SECOND CAREER CONFERENCE HONOR | Release
Junior goalie Sierra Espeland earned America East Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career following Vermont's weekend against Fairfield and Hofstra.
 
Espeland recorded her third career shutout in Vermont's 1-0 win over Hofstra. She finished the weekend with an .818 save percentage while allowing just two goals.
 
MORGAN VAN NOSTRAND JOINS PROGRAM | Release
University of Vermont head coach Kate Pfeifer announced the addition of six-year-old Morgan van Nostrand to the program through Team IMPACT in a press conference on Friday (Aug. 23). Click here for the full release on the signing.