University of Vermont

Live Video (all four games - pay-per-view) | CatamounTV: Tournament Preview
VERMONT FIELD HOCKEY WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont field hockey team will host the fifth annual Sheraton Catamount Classic this weekend at Moulton Winder Field. The Catamounts will open up the action on Saturday when they play host to Pacific at 11 a.m. Maine and Harvard will square off in the second game starting at approximately 2 p.m. On Sunday Pacific and Maine will play at 12 p.m., with Vermont and Harvard wrapping things up with a 2:30 p.m. start.

CATAMOUNTV WEBCASTS: All four games of the tournament will be streamed over the Internet. CatamounTV in conjunction with the Northeast Sports Network will offer 25 live webcasts of home UVM athletic events this fall on a pay-per-view basis. The CatamounTV webcasting page is located at http://www.nsnsports.net/uvm. Individual games cost $4.99 each. Season packages are also available: field hockey season package is $25 (7 games); men’s soccer season package is $30 (8 games); and women’s soccer season package is $35 (10 games). Individual game DVDs will also be available for purchase through the NSN website. In addition, a CatamounTV All-Access Pass is available for $199 to receive every home UVM streamed event for the 2010-11. The All-Access pass includes over 100 live events and All-Access pass holders will also be able to view archived games. Victory Club members will receive a 10 percent discount on all CatamounTV season packages and the CatamounTV All-Access Pass. For more information on the victory club call 802-656-0956. CatamounTV will also provide updates on Vermont Athletics, coach and student-athlete interviews, team and player profiles, game highlights and press conferences throughout the season.

PROMOTIONS: There will be a Sheraton brunch gift certificate contest courtesy of Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center on both days.

CLASSIC HISTORY: This season marks the fifth annual Sheraton Catamount Classic, which started in 2006. Vermont has won its own tournament twice in its first four years of existence and is 6-2 all-time. New Hampshire won the Catamount Classic last season, while Virginia is the only other champ, after taking the trophy in 2007. Last season the Catamounts dropped a 1-0 decision to Penn in their opening game, but bounced back the next day to top UC Davis 3-0.

SCOUTING THE FIELD
PACIFIC: The Tigers are 0-3 this season with a game at Dartmouth before taking part in the Catamount Classic this weekend. Pacific has been outscored by a 24-0 margin in the three losses, which included games against No. 6 Michigan State and No. 19 Stanford. The Tigers finished 6-12 last season after opening the year 1-9. Vermont is 3-0 all-time against Pacific, as the two teams last met in 2007 in a neutral site game in Durham, N.H. with the Catamounts coming out on top 3-2.

HARVARD: The Crimson enter the weekend with a perfect 2-0 record after earning wins over Holy Cross (6-1) and Bryant (5-2) to open the year. In its season opener Harvard was tied 1-1 with Holy Cross at the half before erupting for five-second half tallies. The next day the Crimson broke a 1-1 tie at the break with Bryant by scoring the first four goals of the second half. Chloe Keating leads the team in scoring with nine points on four goals and an assist. The Crimson are 10-3 all-time against the Cats, with the last meeting taking place in 2008, as Harvard won 4-1.

MAINE: The Black Bears, the only team UVM will not face this weekend, are 2-2 on the season after falling to Northeastern on Sunday. Maine has earned victories this season over Providence (3-0) and Michigan (3-2), both at home, while also dropping a 3-0 decision to No. 4 Connecticut. Jocelyn Mitchell is the team’s leading scorer on the year with six points on three goals. Brittany Fleck has played well in goal, posting a 1.33 goals against average. The Black Bears will return to Moulton Winder Field on October 23 to face Vermont in league play.

HOME OPENERS: The Catamounts are 4-1 in home openers since they starting playing on Moulton Winder Field in 2005. Vermont’s only loss during that stretch came last season against Boston College.

COACHING RANKS: Four former Vermont field hockey student-athletes will continue to stay involved in the sport as coaches this fall. Jen Angers ’09, Danielle Collins ’08, Kristen Heavens ’10 and Kate Lipton ’08 will each be roaming the sidelines this year as assistant coaches.

• Angers begins her second season as a graduate assistant coach at Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa.
• Collins has been hired as an assistant coach at Brown in Providence, R.I. This is her second collegiate coaching job as she also was an assistant coach at UMass Lowell during the 2008-09 season.
• Heavens is a first-year assistant coach at Assumption College in Worcester, Mass.
• After coaching both field hockey and lacrosse at Saint Michael’s College, Lipton was hired this summer as an assistant coach at Saint Louis University.

LAST TIME OUT: Julia Garrison scored once and recorded two assists to help Columbia come from behind to top Vermont, 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. The Catamounts took an early lead, but the Lions answered with the final three goals of the contest to win their season opener. Vermont opened the scoring just 3:38 into the contest when senior Brittanie Booker earned her team-best third goal of the season.

SCORING TOUCH: Senior Brittanie Booker leads the Catamounts in scoring this season with seven points on three goals and an assist. Booker has recorded at least one point in each of Vermont’s four games this year and has scored the team’s last two goals overall. She is currently tied for third in the America East in goals scored and tied for fourth in points.

AMERICA EAST POLL: Vermont was picked to finish tied for fifth in the 2010 America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Boston University is the preseason favorite to win the America East Field Hockey Championship, according to a vote of the conference’s head coaches. The Terriers received four of a possible six first-place votes (coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team) and 23 points overall. Albany received one first-place vote and 20 points overall, to place second in this year’s poll. New Hampshire picked up the final top-place vote and tallied 17 points. Maine (16 points), Vermont (7) and Fairfield (7) round out the six-team field. The top four teams in the league will advance to the America East Championship on November 5-6, with the winner of the tournament earning the chance to host the Northeast Conference’s champion in a NCAA Play-In contest.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: In the opening game of the year against Delaware, junior Sarah Becque picked up right where she left off last season by recording a defensive save. Last season she recorded a team-high eight, including two against both Boston College and Albany. Her eight defensive saves were tied for the second-most in the nation. Classmate Alana Izzo also added a defensive save against Lock Haven, after earning four as a sophomore.

TOUGH SCHEDULE: Vermont has another difficult schedule this season, with a pair of games against teams ranked in the latest Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll and seven others against teams just outside the top 20 that are receiving votes. America East members Boston U (#15) and Albany (#18) both cracked the top 20 this week after starting the season undefeated.

FREE HITS: Vermont is 4-2 all-time against teams from the state of California … Last season Taylor Silvestro made the Catamount Classic All-Tournament team, while in 2008 Mackenzie Williams earned a spot on the team after scoring the game-winning goal in a 2-1 Vermont win over Monmouth … UVM’s two Sheraton Catamount Classic crowns have both come on even-numbered years (2006 and 2008) … Following this weekend, Vermont will play its next three games on the road.

KEEP UP WITH THE CATAMOUNTS
There are several ways to keep up with the Catamounts throughout the season:
• Watch all UVM regular season home games for field hockey, basketball, hockey, lacrosse and soccer live over the Internet via CatamounTV and Northeast Sports Network (Click Here) on a pay-per-view basis of $4.99 per game. Season and all-access packages are also available.
• View the latest highlights, interviews and other videos from CatamounTV:  Click Here
• Become a friend on Facebook: Click Here
• Follow Vermont Athletics on Twitter (Click Here) for general information and for more behind the scenes and in-game updates follow the field hockey team (Click Here).
• View and purchase photos via the Photo Galleries, sign up for our eNewsletter and get all the UVM athletic news or just news on the field hockey team delivered to your personal email in-box for free, and receive the results of games for all UVM sports or just field hockey via a text alert on your cell phone all at UVMathletics.com