BURLINGTON, Vt. – After giving up an early goal the Vermont field hockey team controlled the action in a 3-1 win over UC Davis in their America East opener Friday afternoon from Moulton Winder Field on Military Appreciation Day presented by Milton CAT. With the win Vermont improves to 5-1 this season while the Aggies fell to 1-5.

RELATED LINKS
Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV Highlights

COACH'S QUOTE
"I was really proud of the way we persevered through what was a pretty tough first quarter for us, it took us longer to settle into the match then it usually does," head coach Kate Pfeifer said. "We stayed with it, we stayed playing really good team defense and relying on one another and it allowed us to come together in the first quarter and play better hockey throughout the rest of the game."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Aggies opened the scoring 2:58 into the first quarter. An initial shot from Lizzy Tedrow was stopped by Sierra Espeland but the rebound came right back to Tedrow and her second attempt found the back of the net.
• Vermont equalized on their second penalty corner of the afternoon. 8:18 Sophia Drees rifled a low shot that Sophia Lefranc redirected up and past the UC Davis' goalkeeper for her third goal of the season. Haley Buffenbarger and Drees earned assists on the game-tying tally.
• The Catamounts maintained consistent pressure in the second quarter but couldn't breakthrough for a go-ahead goal. UC Davis' Kalli Wagnon made five first half saves for the Aggies.
• Vermont pulled ahead in the third quarter with 6:42 to play. On a restart from near midfield Drees looped a high-arching pass towards the net. Mora Fernandez de Oliveira perfectly played the pass, in an instant she knocked the ball down, turned and redirected a backhand shot home for her first career goal.
• Alina Gerke closed out the scoring for the Catamounts with 3:12 left in regulation. Gerke won a penalty corner for Vermont and then converted. Drees fed a behind the back pass to Gerke and she labeled a backhand shot through Wagnon's pads.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• With the win this afternoon, Vermont has won five straight games in back-to-back seasons.
• Sophia Drees had the third multi-assist game of her career this afternoon. She posted a career-high three assists.
• Vermont posted a win in its America East conference opener for the second time under Head Coach Kate Pfeifer.
• The Catamounts did not surrender a shot on goal for the final 57 minutes of the game.
• 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. Since the campaigns inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $72,000 to local non-profits

UP NEXT
The Catamounts return to action on Sunday afternoon as they continue America East play against Stanford. It is Vermont's annual Rally Against Cancer Game presented by Mascoma Bank. The opening draw is set for 12:30 p.m. and the action will be broadcast live on AmericaEast.TV.