MEN'S LACROSSE NOTEBOOK
 
For the fourth straight season, the Vermont men's lacrosse team will play for the America East Championship. The top-seeded Cats take on No. 3 UMBC Saturday afternoon at Virtue Field.
 
Opening faceoff between the Catamounts and Retrievers is set for 12 p.m. on ESPNU.

Tickets are available by clicking here. All UVM students will receive free admission with their Cat Card courtesy of the UVM President's Office.
 
RELATED LINKS
ESPNU | Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
Vermont roared out of the gates against No. 4 UAlbany in the semifinals jumping out to a 6-1 lead after one quarter and never looking back in a 17-7 victory – the seventh straight over the Great Danes. Thomas McConvey scored seven goals for the second straight game and Brock Haley pumped in three to go with three assists for six points. Ryan Cornell made 12 saves in cage. Griffin Fenech and Michael McCormack each had four points on the day while LSM Nick Alviti scored his eighth goal of the season.
 
ALL-LEAGUE HONORS
Eleven Catamounts earned 14 spots across the America East All-Conference teams, it was announces earlier Wednesday. A program and conference record nine Cats earned First Team All-Conference status headlined by Offensive Player of the Year Thomas McConvey and Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Cornell. David Closterman, Brock Haley, Will Jones, Jackson Canfield, Tommy Burke, Pat Murphy and Nick Alviti were all named to the First Team. Michael McCormack earned a spot on the Second Team while Charlie Pope was UVM's lone representative on the All-Rookie Team.
 
CATS IN THE RANKINGS
UVM finds itself in the thick of the national rankings in a number of categories. The Cats rank first in the country in man-down defense killing penalties at a .787 clip and they rank ninth in caused turnovers per game (9.80). Vermont's scoring defense ranks third nationally giving up 8.87 goals per game. UVM ranked 10^th overall in assists per game (8.53). Individually, Nick Alviti is 21^st in the country in caused turnovers per game. Ryan Cornell ranks second in goals against average and is tenth in save percentage while Tommy Burke sits third in faceoff winning percentage.
 
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Saturday marks Vermont's fourth straight appearance in the championship game and fifth overall (2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022). The Cats took on UMBC in the 2019 title game at Stony Brook dropping a back-and-forth 14-13 decision on Long Island. Vermont won the program's first title last season with a 15-10 win over UAlbany.
 
SCOUTING THE RETRIEVERS
UMBC advanced to Saturday's title game with a 7-6 victory over No. 2 Binghamton in Thursday's first semifinal. The Retrievers needed a final-second stop and a big save from goalie Jayson Tingue to preserve the win. Mike Doughty enters Saturday with a team-high 37 points (19G, 18A) while America East Rookie of the Year Jordan Galloway has 13 goals to his name this year. Tingue made his first start of the season Thursday and boasts a .550 save percentage in limited action.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Saturday's meeting will be the 20^th all-time between the two rivals with UMBC holding a 14-5 advantage entering the weekend. Vermont won the regular season meeting at Virtue Field, 12-3, but prior to that matchup six of the last seven meetings had been decided by three goals or less. UVM has won the last three meetings in Burlington.