FIELD HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
 
The Vermont field hockey team returns home for the first time in two weeks to host UMass Lowell on Friday in a key America East battle. UVM and UML are currently tied for second in the league standings.
 
All the action gets underway from Moulton Winder Field at 2 p.m. on AmericaEast.TV.
 
RELATED LINKS
UMass Lowell Coverage: Live Stats | AmericaEast.TV
 
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
 
Friday's contest will be Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day. All faculty and staff are encouraged to visit the marketing table at the game to be entered to win prizes, as a thank you for all the work and support the faculty and staff has done and continues to do for the team.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
Vermont split a pair of games last weekend falling to UAlbany on Friday before rebounding to dispatch of Colgate in dramatic fashion. Kate Hall staked the Cats to a 1-0 lead in the second half but consistent UAlbany pressure eventually proved to be the difference in a 2-1 Great Dane victory in 2OT. Sierra Espeland made 10 saves in the defeat – Vermont's first in league play. Sunday in Hamilton Vermont had to battle back from a 1-0 deficit in the second half. Maddie Moran scored her fourth goal of the season to tie the game and Alina Gerke provided the heroics in double-overtime for a 2-1 win. Gerke led the team with nine shots and four on goal.
 
KEEP IT ROLLING
 
The Catamounts are off to the best 11-game start to a season in program history and currently have the fifth-highest win percentage in the country. A win on Friday would match the program's most in America East play (2018).
 
AMONG THE LEADERS
 
UVM finds itself in the thick of the national rankings especially on the defensive end. The Cats rank 13^th in defensive saves with four this season while Sierra Espeland ranks 14^th with a .771 save percentage. Offensively, Sophia Drees ranks 12^th with 0.73 assists per game.
 
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
 
UMass Lowell enters Friday afternoon's matchup against the Catamounts with an 8-3 record and a 3-1 record in league play. Last weekend they lost 1-0 against Maine and won a 4-2 decision against Northeastern. Jenna Berger leads the team in scoring with four goals and 13 points while teammates Mirthe Gans and Meike Vischer have each recorded a pair of goals and nine points. Goalkeeper Eleonore Boekhorst has an 8-3 record in 11 starts and a 1.22 goals-against-average.
 
SERIES HISTORY
 
Friday's matchup will be the 23^rd all-time between UVM and UMass Lowell and the 14^th since the River Hawks joined the Division I ranks in 2013. UVM holds a 14-7-1 record in the series history but Lowell has won the last two. Four of the last six matchups have gone to double overtime and all of those games have been decided by one goal.