FIELD HOCKEY NOTEBOOK
 
For the first time since last Halloween, the Vermont field hockey team will be in action this weekend with a pair of contests in New Haven, Conn.
 
Saturday the Cats get the 2022 season underway with a matchup against #10 Syracuse before wrapping up the season-opening road trip against Sacred Heart on Sunday. Both games – streamed for free on NEC Front Row – will be played at noon from Yale University's Johnson Field.
 
RELATED LINKS
Syracuse Game Coverage: Live Stats | NEC Front Row
Sacred Heart Game Coverage: Live Stats | NEC Front Row
 
THE OUTLOOK
The Catamounts put together the finest season under head coach Kate Pfeifer in 2021 winning ten games for the first time since 2007 and knocking off two nationally ranked team. Vermont outscored opponents 30-27 thanks in large part to a stingy backline bolstered by a pair of returning leaders – Haley Buffenbafrger and All-Conference goalkeeper Sierra Espeland. Two of the top three scorers from a year ago also return in the form of tri-captain Kate Hall and All-Rookie selection Alina Gerke. Sophia Drees – who scored three game-winning goals in 2021 – is also back to patrol the Catamount midfield.
 
TEAM CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED
Joining seniors Buffenbarger and Hall wearing the captain band this season is junior Eileen King. She took home the team's most improved player award following the abridged 2021 spring season and will provide steady depth up front for the Catamounts.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Earlier this summer Pfeifer announced the nine-member class of 2026 which features six American and three international student-athletes. It matches the largest class of first-year players in Pfeifer's nine seasons at the helm.
 
SCOUTING THE ORANGE
Ranked tenth in the first coaches' poll of the season, Syracuse enters 2022 coming off a trip the NCAA Tournament last season. The Orange placed four student-athletes on the preseason All-ACC Team – the most of any team in the ACC. Headlining that group is three-time All-American Charlotte de Vries and Quirine Comans. De Vries is fresh off a summer with the United States National Team while Comans finished 2021 with 27 total points on nine goals and nine assists. Brooke Borzymowski started 17 of 19 games last season in cage for the Orange and posted a 1.17 goals against average. A new face on the Syracuse roster will be a familiar one to the Catamounts as Clodagh Ferry plays out her final year of eligibility for the Orange.
 
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Sacred Heart was picked to finished sixth out of eight teams in the Northeast Conference preseason poll following a 2-16 campaign in 2021. The Pioneers also welcome nine newcomers to campus this fall and will be led by veterans Ally Frampton, Isabelle Chamberlain and Mikayla VanHorn. Junior Erin Burgess figures to be a fixture in cage for SHU as she started 17 games last fall posting a 2.82 goals against average.
 
SERIES HISTORIES
The Catamounts and Orange have played 14 times all-time with the latter holding a 3-11-1 advantange in the series. The most recent matchup went the way of Syracuse last season and Vermont's last win in the series came in 2006 when the Cats won 3-2 in New York. UVM is 6-4 in ten all-time matchups with Sacred Heart including a 3-0 shutout victory last season.