BOSTON – Following one of the most successful seasons in program history, the Vermont field hockey team earned several All-America East selections. The league announced its annual award winners Wednesday afternoon.
Clodagh Ferry headlined a group of four Catamounts to earn distinction as she was named to the All-Conference First Team.
Sierra Espeland picked up her first postseason honor with her nod to the All-Conference Second Team. First-year
Alina Gerke joined Espeland on the Second Team and was also named to the All-Rookie team.
Lydia Maitland was an All-Academic team selection for the second straight season.
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Full All-Conference Teams
Ferry's First-Team selection is the first of her career after earning second team honors the last two seasons. She led Vermont with a career-high ten goals this season which ranked in the top-ten among league leaders. Her steady presence in the midfield also helped UVM generate over 200 shots. The Catamounts were 6-2 when Ferry scored a goal this season. She is the first Catamount to be named to the First Team since 2011.
Espeland's first all-league selection comes following her most successful season in the Green and Gold. Her.763 save percentage ranked second in the league while her career-best 1.50 goals against average ranked fourth. She posted four shutouts and now ranks fourth all-time at UVM with nine career clean sheets.
Gerke makes it four straight seasons with a Catamount on the All-Rookie team and is the first to land on the Second Team and Rookie Team since Lauren Tucker in 2015. She ranked second on the team with eight goals in her first season in Burlington and tallied four game-winning goals – the most by a single player since Hall of Famer Danielle Collins had four in 2007.
Maitland is the fourth Catamount in program history to be an All-Academic selection two straight years and she boasts a 3.91 GPA as a neuroscience major. She has started every game the last two seasons and set career-highs in goals and points this year.
Vermont finished the 2021 season with a 10-8 overall record and just outside of playoff position. The Cats beat two ranked opponents for the first time in program history and beat the two top seeds in the conference tournament – the only team to do that in the regular season.
