Despite heavy rain and cold-weather, the UVM women’s lacrosse team fought hard during their home-opener to sustain their winning streak.
The Catamounts lost to the Marist University Red Foxes in overtime 15-14 Feb. 24.
Vermont went into this game with two away wins under their belt from the previous weekend, according to UVM athletics.
UVM is currently tied at No.1 in the America East rankings, along with Albany and Stony Brook, according to America East Online.
Marist went into the game against the Catamounts with a 0-2 record looking for a win, head coach Sarah Dalton said.
The game began with three early goals for the Red Foxes. However, Vermont did not let this lead discourage their play, Dalton said.
“I am really proud of how they fought and competed and how they crawled their way back in there in the beginning when we were down by three,” she said.
Senior midfielder Elise Koehl scored Vermont’s first goal with an assist from senior attackman Alex Vigona, leading to five consecutive goals for UVM in the next five minutes.
The fifth goal was shot by first-year attackman Dani Paterno, her first career goal as a Catamount.
“I think the first-years are doing very well,” Dalton said. “They push the sophomores, juniors and seniors to play better. That’s all I can ask for. They’re just a great, coachable group.”
Senior attackman Jenna Janes scored her third goal of the game with one-minute left in the first half, giving Vermont an 8-4 lead over Marist.
Marist opened the second with two early goals on Vermont, narrowing the gap to 8-6.
UVM lacrosse fan and Burlington local, Emma Sweeney said that the Catamounts shouldn’t let their guard down.
“Vermont’s leading by two, but in lacrosse that’s not a significant advantage,” she said. “Marist’s a good team, they [Vermont] need to keep focused on the win.”
UVM and Marist each scored two more goals. At the 18-minute mark, the Catamounts called a time-out.
Sophomore Lily McGintee said she questioned why there was a timeout at this point of the game.
“I think the coach realizes the team is tired,” she said. “I mean they’re playing really hard and this rain must be brutal for them.”
After the time out, UVM scored two more times, giving them a four-goal advantage over their opponent.
Senior attackman Jenny Caoli scored the latter of the two goals, making her first hat-trick of the season, according to UVM athletics.
As the game proceeded, the rainfall affected both teams ability to stay on their feet.
“The weather was slightly an obstacle today, but lacrosse can be played in the rain,” Dalton said. “We didn’t let that hold us back.”
Marist was able to sustain possession in the last 10 minutes of play, eventually tying the game up 14-14 at the end of regulation.
In a three-minute, sudden-death overtime, Vermont won the face-off, but due to a penalty they lost the ball.
Marist used this advantage and quickly moved up the field to score and won the game.
Dalton said that it was still an exciting game but wished UVM had won.
“I am bummed definitely at how it ended, just bummed for the girls,” she said. “But, I am really proud of how they fought today.”
The women’s lacrosse team has a long season ahead of them and are excited to continue growing with the end goal of competing in the America East Championships, Dalton said.
The Catamount’s next game is 12 p.m. at home against Sacred Heart University.
The women’s lacrosse players could not be reached for comment.