MEN'S LACROSSE NOTEBOOK
 
The Vermont men's lacrosse team takes its final dip into non-conference play Saturday afternoon when Canisius comes to town.
 
Opening faceoff between the Cats and Golden Griffins is set for noon out at Virtue Field.
 
RELATED LINKS
AmericaEast.TV | Live Stats
 
MILITARY APPRECIATE DAY
Saturday's game is Military Appreciation Day presented by Milton Cat. Please consider showing your support by donating to the Josh Pallotta Fund by visiting Joshpallottafund.org. Donations directly support veterans in our local community.

LAST TIME OUT
The Cats got league play off to a strong start with a convincing 14-3 victory over NJIT last Saturday at Virtue Field. Vermont used ten different goal scorers and forced 16 turnovers on the defensive end to pick up its fifth straight win over America East opponents. Brock Haley, Griffin Fenech, Jonas Hunter and Michael McCormack all scored twice for the Cats as seven different players registered multiple points. Nick Alviti caused three turnovers while Ryan Cornell stopped eight of nine shots in cage. Vermont has outscored NJIT 31-5 over the last two seasons.
 
WEEKLY HONORS
For the second time this season, two Catamounts earned America East Weekly honors. Ryan Cornell and Charlie Pope both picked up their second weekly awards – Cornell the Defensive Player of the Week and Pope the Rookie of the Week. Cornell's .667 save percentage over the last two games lowered his GAA to 9.96 while Pope tallied three assists and a goal to give him 12 points now on the season.
 
CATS IN THE RANKINGS
UVM finds itself in the thick of the national rankings in a number of categories. The Cats rank second in the country in man-down defense killing penalties at a .808 clip and they rank eighth in caused turnovers per game (10.22). Individually, Nick Alviti is 15^th in the country in caused turnovers per game. Vermont's scoring defense ranks 13^th nationally giving up 9.89 goals per game.
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS
Canisius comes into the weekend with a 2-6 record but is fresh off a conference-opening victory over Siena last weekend. Freshman faceoff specialist Johnny Richiusa was named the MAAC Faceoff Player of the Week and was recognized as part of the USILA Team of the Week after going 17-for-20 with 13 ground balls last weekend. Four-time MAAC Rookie of the Week Colin Kelly leads Canisius with 23 goals and five assists while Matt Vavonese has started all but one game in cage and enters the weekend with a 15.20 goals against average.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday's meeting will be just the fifth all-time between the Cats and Golden Griffins with the former holding a 4-1 edge. The two teams last met during the 2016 season in Oshawa, Ontario which was the first NCAA Division I men's lacrosse game played in Canada. Canisius won that matchup 11-6. Saturday will be the first all-time meeting in Burlington.