FINAL SCORE: Vermont 9, Dartmouth 8
BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Vermont Catamounts broke a halftime deadlock and claimed its second consecutive 9-8 win on Virtue Field, this week handing previously unbeaten Dartmouth (3-1, 0-0 Ivy) its first loss of the 2020 season.
 
Vermont improves to 3-1 with its third straight win heading into America East conference play next weekend.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | CatamounTV Highlights | Photos | Feifs Postgame
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"I saw a team that responded to a sloppy first half; we were really sloppy defensively in the second quarter and the message to the team was that we have a lot of self-inflicted wounds right now, let's get back to what we worked on all week: playing smart and playing together," said head coach Chris Feifs. "We're up and down, there are too many peaks and valleys. We need to work on being more consistent. It starts on the defensive side of the ball and we have to make sure we're taking care of the ball between the lines and in the clearing game. It's really a lot of little things and I think we have to go back and get a really good week of practice because UMBC is really good."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts jumped to a 3-0 lead through the first quarter behind goals from Rob Hudson, Ben French, and Liam Limoges.
• Dartmouth responded in the second quarter with five consecutive goals to take a 5-3 lead with 6:07 to play in the half. French tallied consecutive goals to record his second straight hat trick and tie the game at 5-5 with 2:35 remaining and the half ended at a 6-6 deadlock.
• David Closterman scored the lone third quarter goal to give the Cats a 7-6 lead heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation.
• Closterman netted his second of the game with 12:44 to play in the fourth to push UVM's lead to 8-6.
• Limoges scored the eventual game-winning goal with 9:16 to play in the fourth quarter to make it 9-7 in favor of the home team. A late Dartmouth man-up goal cut the lead back to one.
• Dartmouth's efforts to tie the game in the final minutes were stymied by a pair of penalties against the Big Green. Vermont was able to wind down the remainder of the clock to take the one-goal win.

GAME NOTES

• Nick Washuta made five saves for Vermont in the first half. Ryan Cornell made five second half saves to pick up his first collegiate win.
• Tommy Burke went 11-for-17 at the faceoff X and added five ground balls. He set career-highs in faceoff wins, faceoffs taken, and ground balls.
• Both teams went 2-for-5 on man-up opportunities. Dartmouth's EMO goals marked the first allowed by Vermont this season.
• Vermont finished the afternoon 17-for-20 on clears. Dartmouth finished the afternoon 13-for-16.
• Both teams finished the afternoon with 14 turnovers. Vermont won the ground ball battle, 23-19.
• This afternoon's win over Dartmouth marks the first win over an Ivy League opponent for head coach Chris Feifs. He holds a 1-3 record against Ivy league foes in his career.
• With the victory, the Cats Win, Community Wins campaign and Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to a Vermont charity, bringing the 2020 total to 40 wins totaling $4,000. A special thank you to Vermont Mutual Insurance for their support, protecting Vermonters since 1828.

UP NEXT | Tickets
Vermont opens America East conference play next Saturday (Mar. 14) on Virtue Field against UMBC (4-1, 0-0 AE). The 2019 America East Championship game rematch is slated to begin at 3 p.m.