FINAL SCORE: Vermont 3, Saint Anselm 0
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont (1-0-1) earned its first win of the season on Wednesday (Aug. 21) night, defeating Saint Anselm in a shutout, 3-0, from Virtue Field. UVM now improves to 8-4-2 in home openers under Coach Huizenga, winning back-to-back home openers for the first time since the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV Highlights
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"I thought we were pretty solid start to finish tonight," said Head Coach Kristi Huizenga. "We play St. Anselm quite often, though typically in the offseason and they always challenge us, so this was a good early game for us. Lauren and Kate looked very dangerous tonight and the quality of all three goals were excellent. We look forward to prepping for BU."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• 9:37 into the match, Williston, Vt. native Josie Pecor had a prime scoring chance in the key but UVM's Farrah Yaacoub was there to make a lunging block, keeping the contest at 0-0
• From the 17th minute to the 19th minute, the Catamount's rifled three shots on net, all saved by Saint Anselm's goalkeeper Maggie Warner. Bailey Ayer owned two shots on goal while Emma Warren registered one during the rush.
• Ayer scored first, putting Vermont up 1-0 in the 31st minute after wheeling around the far corner of the box, using her right foot, she pinned the bottom left corner of the net earning the Catamounts a first half lead.
• In the 44th minute, Elizabeth Sommeling connected with Lauren DeGroot inside the key, placing her shot bottom left, moving Vermont ahead 2-0 with a minute remaining in the first half.
• The Hawks almost found the back of the net in the 63rd minute when Daniella Atherton found herself all alone on the left side of the key but her shot missed slightly wide, keeping the Catamount's ahead, 2-0.
• A Virtue Field debut goal occurred in the 69th minute, giving Vermont a three-goal cushion with not a lot of time remaining. Freshman midfielder, Yaacoub, laced the ball from 20 yards out, putting her shot crossbar-in on the Saint Anselm goalie for an incredible first career goal, as the Catamounts ran away with a 3-0 lead.
• Vermont maintained pressure the rest of the match, earning the first win of the season, 3-0, and first victory on home turf.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Olivia White led all Catamounts in minutes, playing 77 total against Saint Anselm.
• Yaacoub scored her first career goal in her Virtue Field debut on Wednesday night.
• Ayer secured her second goal of the season after scoring against the Hawks. It's the second time in her career scoring a goal in back-to-back games. Ayer also tied a career high six shots and set a new career high four shots on goal.
• Sommeling tallied her first assist of the season to go along with one shot on goal.
• DeGroot scored one goal and led all substitutes in shots on net, earning two versus Saint Anselm. DeGroot now has tallied points in back-to-back games for the second time in her career.
• Freshman midfielder Ella Hall led all substitutes in minutes played, racking up 53 minutes of playing time.
• Junior goalkeeper Kylee Carafoli and Freshman Goalkeeper Vanessa Smith split the time Wednesday night, each playing one half. Carafoli posted two saves with zero goals allowed in the first 45 minutes followed by Hall, who had one save and zero goals allowed in the second 45 minutes.
• Vermont had eight corner kicks to Saint Anselm's one.
• Vermont won the foul battle, committing only five to the Hawk's 12.

UP NEXT
Following Wednesday's matchup with the Hawks, the Catamounts stay home as they prepare to face Boston University in Vermont's annual Pep Rally Game presented by TD Bank on Sunday, August 25 at 1 p.m. The matchup with BU will be the second game of a four-game home slate.
 
For news and updates about the Vermont women's soccer program, follow @UVMwsoccer on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.

New England Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont soccer