BURLINGTON, Vt. – Cricket Basa scored the game-winning goal in the 80th minute as the top-seeded Catamounts defeated the six-seed New Hampshire 1-0 Sunday in front of 2,017 fans at Virtue Field to clinch the program's first America East Tournament Championship. With Vermont's ninth win in a row they have claimed the conference's automatic qualifier to the 2021 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament.
 
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Postgame Press Conference: Coach Huizenga | Basa | Kessel
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"I don't have words for how special the atmosphere was today and for the semifinal out at Virtue," Head Coach Kristi Huizenga said. "Catamount Country came up huge to help us come out on top and battle down the stretch. UNH was stubborn defensively and credit to them for a great plan. We weren't able to move the ball as much today as we normally do, but we've leaned on our depth all season long which paid off big when we needed it most. I couldn't be happier for our team for all the work they've put in and to be able to experience this moment and opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament."


 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both goalkeepers were strong in the opening half for their teams. UNH's Cat Sheppard made four saves in the opening 45 and Lydia Kessel made one for the Catamounts. The best chance of the half came off the head of UNH's Meghan Guarente. She headed a ball just over the bar in the 31st minute.
• In the 63rd minute Kessel made an outstanding save to keep the game scoreless. Guarente put a corner kick into the box and it managed to soar past a group of Wildcats and UVM defenders. It fell perfectly to UNH's Casey Peterson. Peterson fired a shot for the top corner left corner that a diving Kessel just parried over the bar.
• In the 80th minute Bailey Ayer took advantage of a poor first touch from a UNH defender on a restart from Sheppard. Ayer quickly took the ball the other way pushing the pace in transition. As Ayer approached the 18 she played a cutback ball towards Ella Bankert and Cricket Basa. Unsure who to mark the UNH defense left both open and Basa slotted a perfect one-touch shot past a diving Sheppard to give UVM the lead.
• With just under three minutes left in regulation UNH's Logan Nicholson won a free kick about five yards outside the box. Emily Bini took the free kick and played a perfect ball into traffic. In the ensuing chaos Guarente made solid contact and a diving Kessel knocked the ball down and was able to corral the rebound as it bounced behind her. Kessel's stop on Guarente was her fourth save of the second half as she closed out the win and her fifth clean sheet of the campaign.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Cricket Basa was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
• Lydia Kessel, Alex West, Karen Wallace and Basa were named to the America East All-Championship Team.
• The Catamounts current nine-game win streak is its longest since 1979 when Vermont opened the season with 13 straight wins.
• Vermont's current nine-game winning streak is the third longest in the NCAA right now. Only Samford (12) and Milwaukee (13) have longer active streaks.
• With the win this afternoon, Lydia Kessel is now tied for first all-time in single season wins with 11. Paula LaMothe also posted 11 wins in the 1984 campaign. Kessel is also tied for seventh all-time at Vermont now with 15 career wins.
• With today's win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to Vermont Foodbank as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Vermont Mutual has committed to donating $15,000 to Vermont Foodbank for the 2021 season. A special thank you to Vermont Mutual Insurance for their support. Vermont Mutual Insurance, protecting Vermonters since 1828.

WHO'S NEXT
The Catamounts will the make the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance next weekend. The Division I women's soccer tournament field will be unveiled on Monday, November 8 at 4:30 p.m. in a broadcast live on NCAA.com.