WOMEN'S SOCCER NOTEBOOK
The Catamounts (8-5-1, 5-2-0 AE) hit the road for their penultimate regular season game on a five-game win streak to face UMBC (5-7-3, 1-5-1 AE) at 1 p.m. on Sunday. All the action will stream live on AmericaEast.TV. 
 
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PLAYOFF PUSH
With two games remaining in the America East regular season the Catamounts are atop the standings with 15 points. They are one point ahead of Binghamton and two ahead of UMass Lowell. The top two teams in the regular season receive a bye to the semifinals which will be hosted on campus sites Thursday, November 4. The teams finishing third and fourth will host quarterfinals on Halloween.
 
Vermont will officially clinch a playoff position this weekend with a Binghamton win or tie over New Hampshire. A win Sunday for the Catamounts would clinch at least a home playoff game in the quarterfinals. Vermont hasn't hosted a playoff game at home since the 2015 quarterfinals against UMBC. The Catamounts have hosted semifinal just once in program history, in 1996 following their regular season conference title.
 
SETTING NEW RECORDS WITH WIN STREAK
Vermont's current five-game conference winning streak is the longest in program history. Vermont has conceded just one goal in its last five games. The Catamounts current five-game win streak is its longest since the 2005 campaign. Vermont's last six-game win streak was in 1996, UVM was America East regular season champions that year with an unblemished record of 7-0-0 in league play.
 
KESSEL ON A HISTORIC RUN
Senior goaltender Lydia Kessel had her four-game shutout streak snapped against UMass Lowell at 395 minutes and one second. Kessel is first in America East averaging 6.38 saves-per-game. Kessel's 6.38 mark is good for 20th in the NCAA. Her 83 stops this season ranks 26th in the NCAA and second in America East. Kessel is one of three keepers in the league with four conference clean sheets.
 
BASA AND OVIEDO LEAD AND THE CATAMOUNTS FOLLOW
Cricket Basa and Alyssa Oviedo are leading the Catamounts historic push from an offensive perspective. Oviedo has five goals and two assists for 12 points this season while Basa has four goals and two assists for 10 points. Basa notched game-winning goals against Maine and Hartford while Oviedo provided the OT winner with a penalty kick over UMass Lowell in UVM's five-game win streak. Vermont is 6-2-0 this season when one or both of them score.
 
SCOUTING THE RETRIEVERS
UMBC is 1-5-1 in league play this season. The Retrievers haven't registered a goal in their last four conference games. Last weekend at UAlbany they fell 4-0. UMBC is the only league team this season that hasn't posted a clean sheet. UMBC has given up a league high 14 goals in conference play this season.
 
Junior forward Juliana Rafaniello is the team's leading scorer with five goals and four assists for 14 points, but none of her points have come in league play. UMBC midfielders Izzy Binko and Grace Harvey have scored the two league goals for the Retrievers.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Vermont is 10-5-3 all-time against UMBC including a 5-1-1 mark in the last seven meetings. The Catamounts defeated UMBC 1-0 on October 13, 2019 in their last meeting. Alyssa Oviedo scored in the 89th minute for her second career game-winning goal.
 
REGULAR SEASON FINALE THURSDAY MATINEE
Vermont will face New Hampshire Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. at Virtue Field. The Catamounts matchup with the current sixth place team will have real playoff seeding implications. It will also be the Catamounts America East Spread Respect Game.
 
America East's Spread Respect initiative raises awareness to ensure equality and safety for all student-athletes, coaches and fans without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.