BALTIMORE – David Closterman had five points and Matt Shaffer made a career-high 19 saves as Vermont used a 4-0 third quarter to pull away from UMBC and win their regular season finale 11-7 Saturday afternoon from UMBC Stadium.
 
Vermont improved to 9-4 overall and 7-0 in America East action and UMBC falls to 8-5 and 3-4. With the win Vermont outright clinched their second straight America East Regular Season Championship and completed its second straight undefeated conference slate. The Catamounts will host the 2023 America East Semifinals and Championship next week at Virtue Field beginning Thursday, May 4. Full ticket and broadcast details are available below.
 
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Box Score
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"So proud of our group today with a tough win on the road," Head Coach Chris Feifs said. "UMBC is a great team and we had to show a lot of poise to seal the win in the second half. Quick turnaround for the conference tournament on Virtue."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UMBC opened the scoring Saturday afternoon as Dane Hall picked up his 13th of the season 1:35 into the contest. Vermont answered back with two transition goals just 26 seconds apart. Griffin Fenech recovered a rebound after Carson Boyle rang a shot off the post and he quickly got it to Brock Haley who tied things up at one. Off the won draw by Tommy Burke, Boyle did find the back of the net to give UVM its first lead of the day with 11:20 to play in the first.
• After two consecutive Retrievers goals Tristan Whitaker tied things up at three with 3:31 to play in the opening quarter with his 15th goal of the season.
• 28 seconds into the second frame David Closterman reestablished the UVM lead with a man up tally. Closterman took a feed from Whitaker and fired a bouncer past UMBC's Jayson Tingue.
• In a tight defensive second quarter UMBC's Mike Doughty knotted things at four with 6:52 to play in the half. Just 49 seconds later Fenech made it 5-4, UVM would carry that advantage into the intermission.
• Vermont took control in the third quarter, picking up four goals from James Basile, Closterman, Nick Alviti and Whitaker. Shaffer made five saves in the third as UVM held the Retrievers off the board to take a 9-4 edge to the final 15 minutes.
• UMBC pushed in the fourth but Burke and Haley helped close out the win with two fourth quarter goals as the Retrievers never cut the UVM lead under four.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE                                                                                                                

• Vermont is now 7-1 this season when scoring at least 10 goals.
• The Catamounts have won their last 19 games against conference opponents.
• The Catamounts are the fifth America East program to clinch at least a share of the regular season title in three straight seasons. They join UAlbany (2013-18), Stony Brook (2009-12), Hofstra (1995-98) and Delaware (1992-1994) as the only programs to have done so.
• Men's Lacrosse joins men's basketball as the only programs at Vermont to win three consecutive regular season championships in America East.
• With three assists this afternoon David Closterman has 20 on the season and 93 in his career. He is now tied with Craig Mygatt '88 for second all-time in career assists at UVM.
• With today's win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to King Street Center as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since its inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $80,000 to local non-profits through the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. 

WHO'S NEXT
The top-seeded Catamounts will face the four-seed UAlbany in the America East Semifinals Thursday, May 4 at 4 p.m. Last season UVM defeated the Great Danes 17-7 in the semifinals. Vermont is undefeated in its last five semifinal appearances and 4-0 under Head Coach Chris Feifs.
 
The two-seed Bryant and the three-seed Binghamton will face off at 7 p.m. Both games will be hosted at Virtue Field and broadcast live on ESPN+ with Brian McLaughlin on the call. Tickets are available now at https://go.uvm.edu/tcj30, it's $10 for adults, $6 for youth 14 and under and UVM students are free courtesy the President's Office. Kids 12 and under wearing their favorite youth jersey can get a special $2 ticket upon arrival. Semifinal tickets are good for both contests.
 
The winners of Thursday's matchups will face off for the 2023 America East Championship Saturday, May 6 at 1 p.m. from Virtue Field. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. Tickets for the title game are available now at https://go.uvm.edu/3dmec.