MEN'S LACROSSE NOTEBOOK
 
The 2021 America East Co-Regular Season Champions square off Saturday afternoon in Burlington as UVM hosts UMBC at Virtue Field.
 
Opening faceoff between the Cats and Retrievers is set for noon.
 
RELATED LINKS
AmericaEast.TV | Live Stats
 
VERMONT LACROSSE ALUMNI WEEKEND
VMLCC and the Vermont Men's Lacrosse program are inviting all of our alumni back for a meetup on Friday, April 1 from 7-9pm.  On Saturday, April 2, we welcome you to the lacrosse doubleheader and gathering at the CatMobile following the men's game.
 
RALLY AROUND MENTAL HEALTH
April 2nd is our Rally Around Mental Health game, presented by Inspired Closets. Through this partnership, Inspired Closets is helping to raise money to support the Rally Around Mental Health initiative in the UVM Department of Athletics, which is focused on increasing awareness about mental health issues, decreasing the stigma around mental health & help-seeking, as well as providing mental health resources & support to student-athletes. To make a donation and help UVM's student athletes today, you can use this link.
 
LAST TIME OUT
In the final non-conference game of the season, Vermont held visiting Canisius scoreless for two quarters in a convincing 15-6 win last weekend. The Cats had ten different goal scorers for the second straight game and seven different players posted multi-point games. David Closterman led the way with three goals and two assists while Nick Alviti scored twice – his first career multi-goal game. Ryan Cornell made seven saves on 10 shots while Tommy Burke, Gavin Bergeron and Tim Norton combined to go 22-for-25 at the faceoff X.

BURKE NAMED MIDSEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Tommy Burke was named an Honorable Mention Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-American Thursday, as IL announced its midseason accolades. Burke currently ranks sixth in the country and first in the conference with a .622 faceoff win percentage. Last weekend against Canisius he went 17-for-20 with four ground balls. That 85% clip is the highest of his career when attempting at least 20 faceoffs.
 
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 .793 clip and they rank seventh in caused turnovers per game (1010). Vermont's scoring defense ranks 7^th nationally giving up 9.50 goals per game. Individually, Nick Alviti is 15^th in the country in caused turnovers per game. Ryan Cornell ranks 10^th in goals against average while Tommy Burke sits sixth in faceoff winning percentage.
 
SCOUTING THE RETRIEVERS
UMBC enters the weekend with a 2-4 overall record and an 0-1 mark in league play after falling to Binghamton last weekend. The Retrievers also enter this weekend with an 0-4 record on the road this season. Per usual UMBC brings in a stingy defense that ranks second in the league – behind Vermont – in scoring defense and man-down defense. Thomas Linger enters the matchup with a 10.51 goals against average in cage. Mike Doughty (8G, 9A) and Brett Baucia (11G, 4A) lead UMBC offensively while Zach Dudley boasts a .542 win percentage at the faceoff X.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday's meeting will be just the 19^th all-time in the series history between the two teams with UMBC holding a 14-4 advantage entering the weekend. Six of the last seven meetings have been decided by three goals or less including last season – a 10-8 UMBC win in Baltimore. Vermont won the last matchup in Burlington – a 9-6 decision under the lights in 2018.