FIELD HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
 
With a brief offseason and a steamy preseason in the rear-view mirror, the Vermont field hockey team gets the 2021 season underway this weekend with a pair of games in Syracuse, N.Y.
 
UVM takes on Sacred Heart Saturday afternoon in a neutral site duel and wraps up the weekend with the host and 14^th-ranked Orange on ACC Network Extra. Both games start at 2 p.m.
 
RELATED LINKS
SACRED HEART COVERAGE: Live Stats
SYRACUSE COVERAGE: Live Stats | ACC Network Extra
 
HOW TO WATCH
Sunday's game against Syracuse can be seen on ACC Network Extra. Fans can use the ESPN app to watch the game by signing in with their cable provider. ACC Network Extra is included if the cable or streaming provider carries the ACC Network.
 
COVID GUIDELINES
Admission to Syracuse's J.S. Coyne Stadium for regular season games is free. All fans attending games and events must adhere to Syracuse University's COVID-19 policy, which can be found here.
 
THE OUTLOOK
The Catamounts finished the abridged 2020-21 season with a 2-8 record but four of those losses were by one goal and two came in penalty shootouts. Nearly 80-percent of the offensive output from the spring is back this fall highlighted by leading goal scorer Kate Hall (5G) and central midfielder Clodagh Ferry (1G, 19 SOG) – both were America East Second Team All-Conference selections in the spring. Sierra Espeland returns for a fifth season fresh off a solid spring in which she ranked fourth in save percentage (.742) and gave up just 1.611 goals per game.
 
TEAM CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED
Lydia Maitland will wear the captain band once again this fall and she'll be joined by classmate Clodagh Ferry and junior Haley Buffenbarger. Head Coach Kate Pfeifer made the announcement earlier this week.
 
INTERNATIONAL FLARE
Three of Vermont's eight incoming first-year student-athletes come from outside the United States including the first two players in program history to hail from Germany. Sophia Drees and Alina Gerke ventured to Burlington from Germany while Molly Morris – a member of Scotland's U19 national team – rounds out the trio.
 
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Sacred Heart posted a 3-5 record last spring on the strength of now-graduated Hailey Power who was named the Northeast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year. The Pioneers feature eight new players on the roster and were picked to finished sixth in the NEC preseason coaches' poll. Sacred Heart scored just 0.6 goals per game last spring but got production from five different players, all of whom return this season.
 
SCOUTING THE ORANGE
No. 14 Syracuse enters the season picked to finish in a three-way tie for fifth in the seven-team Atlantic Coast Conference. The Orange are led by junior forward Carlotte de Vries, a preseason All-ACC selection and member of the US Women's National Team. She scored five goals and added three assists last year en route to being named a First Team All-American. Goalkeepers Syd Taylor and Emily Streib split time in cage and both boasted a goals against average under two.
 
SERIES HISTORIES
Saturday will be the 10^th all-time meeting between UVM and Sacred Heart. The Cats hold a 5-4 edge in that series and won the most recent meeting, 2-0, in 2015. Sunday will be the 15^th matchup in the all-time series against Syracuse with the Orange holding a 10-3-1 advantage. Two years ago, the two teams went to overtime in Burlington with Syracuse scoring the 4-3 win.