University of Vermont Athletics

FINAL SCORE: #3 Vermont 13, #2 Bryant 7
ALBANY, N.Y. – Max Frattaroli had four goals and Zack Toll had six points as the Catamounts used a six-goal first quarter to jump in front of the two-seed Bryant early in the America East Semifinals and Vermont never looked back earning the program's seventh title game appearance with a 13-7 win from Tom & Mary Casey Stadium on the campus of UAlbany.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score
CatamounTV: Frattaroli Reel
Highlights 

COACH'S QUOTE
"I still think we have our best game in front of us," said Head Coach Chris Feifs. "With leaders like Max Frattaroli stepping up in big games like this, it takes pressure off of young guys like our second midfield, which we have two first years, and a sophomore. We go, as our leaders go, and we're a really cohesive group so I think we have a great chance whoever we face." 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bryant opened the scoring in the America East semifinal 2:28 into the first quarter as Owen West made it 1-0 early.
• The Catamounts took control of the contest after that with six unanswered goals scored in three spurts of game action.
• Ethan Pearson got Vermont on the board 4:52 into the contest and then Toll gave UVM its first lead of the game just 29 seconds later.
• The best man-up squad in America East took it from there with two more UVM goals. Toll scored his second of the game with 7:02 to play in the first quarter and then 54 seconds later Matthew Drimmie took a feed from Toll, and his fourth goal of the year made it 4-1.
• Cullen Decker made it 5-1 with a great individual effort in transition. He beat a Bryant defender to the outside and cut it front of the crease before firing home his 19th goal of the season with 4:27 to play in the opening frame.
• Just 1:08 later Sean McCeney made it 6-1 for Vermont with his fifth goal of the season.
• Patrick Walsh scored a man-up goal for Bryant with 2:56 to play in the first quarter to end the Vermont run and close out the first quarter scoring with UVM in front 6-2.
• After another Bryant tally from West UVM reestablished its five-goal edge with goals from Max Frattaroli and Pearson to make it 8-3 for the Catamounts with 4:51 to play in the first half.
• Frattaroli and Bryant's Caden Lennon exchanged goals in the final minute of the half and the Catamounts took a 9-4 lead into halftime.
• Decker opened the scoring for Vermont in the third quarter finding the back of the net for his second goal of the game 59 seconds in. Decker executed a spin move to lose the Bryant defender and slotted home his 20th goal of the year from 10 yards out to make it 10-4.
• Lennon and West scored for Bryant to cut the UVM edge back down to four goals with 8:51 to play in the third quarter.
• Vermont answered right back as Frattaroli took a feed from Toll and completed his hat trick to make it 11-6 with 7:50 to play in the third.
• Luca Elmaleh notched his fifth goal of the season for Bryant with 34 seconds left in the third frame to cut it to 11-7 heading to the fourth quarter.
• The Catamounts defense locked the Bulldogs out in the final frame, UVM's Ryan Daly made three of his 12 saves to cement his sixth win of the season.
• Frattaroli and Luke Reiter scored empty-net goals in the final two minutes of game action to seal the victory for Vermont.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Vermont's six first quarter goals were a season-high for the Catamounts. Their previous high was five goals, set in their last contest against Binghamton.
• Tonight was the first time all season the Catamounts have held their opponent scoreless in the fourth quarter.
• The Catamounts are now 8-4 all-time under Head Coach Chris Feifs in the America East Tournament.
• Vermont will be making its seventh America East title game appearance on Saturday and their sixth under Coach Feifs.
• Under Coach Feifs the Catamounts are now 6-1 in semifinal action of the America East Tournament.
• This evening was the first-ever postseason matchup between Bryant and Vermont. UVM is now 5-1 against the Bulldogs since they joined America East.

UP NEXT
The Catamounts have advanced to the America East Championship game for the second time in the last three seasons. They'll face the top-seed UAlbany at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 2 from Tom & Mary Casey Stadium after Great Danes dispatched UMBC 14-3 in the late semifinal.
 
Saturday's matchup will be the fourth championship game between the Catamounts and Great Danes. In 2018 UAlbany topped Vermont 14-4 at home, then in 2021 the Catamounts beat the Great Danes 15-10 at UMBC and most recently UA held on at home to beat UVM 12-11 in 2024. Dating back to 2018 the teams have met six times in the America East Tournament with each team having won three games apiece.
 
Tickets are available now at go.uvm.edu/mlaxship. The action will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and a free international stream will be broadcast on AmericaEast.TV.
For news and updates about the Vermont men's lacrosse program, follow @UVMmlax on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and visit UVMathletics.com.