FINAL SCORE: Vermont 17, Colgate 8
HAMILTON, N.Y. – Riley Halloran and Ava Vasile tallied a career-high six points each to lead Vermont (1-0) to a 17-8 victory over Colgate (0-1) in Saturday's season opener at Andy Kerr Stadium.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"I'm very proud of our team throughout all four quarters," head coach Sarah Dalton Graddock said. "Colgate is strong on the draw and really challenged us to find other ways to gain possession. I'm looking forward to learning from the film as we prepare for BU."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• McKenzie Ballard netted the Catamounts' first goal of the season 2:53 into the game. Colgate responded with a goal by Eliza Farriss 1:03 later before Kerry Gerety took back the lead with 4:36 in the first half. Sarah Harding answered for the Raiders 21 seconds after Vermont's go-ahead goal to tie the game and Cara O'Rielly added her first goal of the season to give Colgate a 3-2 lead through the opening quarter.
• Vermont rattled off five straight goals to start the second quarter with Ballard netting her second marker of the game to begin the run. Vasile put the Catamounts up 4-3 with 6:20 remaining in the second frame. Grace Giancola and Halloran added goals over the next 53 seconds and Vasile capped off the run to give UVM a 7-3 lead with 3:43 left in the half. Colgate chipped away at the lead with a pair of goals in the final 3:04, but Vermont took a 7-5 lead into the break.
• The Raiders cut the Catamounts' lead to one goal on two separate occasions in the early minutes of the second half, before Vasile kickstarted a 3-0 Vermont run. Maris Large and Maddie Erskine got in on the scoring to give the Cats an 11-7 lead with 0:59 left in the third quarter. Erskine's goal was the first of the rookie's career. UVM would lead 11-8 through 45 minutes of play.
• In the fourth quarter, Vermont outscored Colgate 6-0 led by a pair of goals by Large. Taylor Mullen, Erin Kloostra, Halloran, and Vasile also registered goals in the final frame.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Sophie McLaughlin registered six saves in goal for Vermont.
• Vasile's six points came on four goals and two assists. The midfielder registered seven shots on the afternoon and scooped up one groundball.
• Halloran tallied a career-high four assists in her six-point outing. The senior also scored a pair of goals on three shots.
• Large produced a game-high eight shots on attack for Vermont. The senior registered a three-goal outing for the ninth time in her career.
• With today's win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to COTS, the Committee on Temporary Shelter, as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. A special thank you to Vermont Mutual Insurance for their support. Vermont Mutual Insurance, protecting Vermonters since 1828.

UP NEXT
The Catamounts return to action on Wednesday (Feb. 16) when they visit Boston University at Nickerson Field. The opening draw is slated for 4 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN+.