VERMONT MEN'S LACROSSE NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont men's lacrosse matchup versus NJIT has been moved to Drew University (Madison, New Jersey) on Tuesday, February 16 at 1 p.m.
 
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday (Feb. 13) at 3 p.m., but projected low temperatures in the weather forecast prompted the move to Tuesday.

GAME COVERAGE
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ABOUT VERMONT
UVM (0-1) saw a successful 2015 season as five athletes earned spots on America East All-Conference teams. Head coach Ryan Curtis became the first coach in program history to be awarded America East Coach of the Year after his ninth season at the helm of the program. Curtis guided UVM to a program-best four conference victories last season as the team secured its best-ever seed in the America East playoffs.
 
Vermont returns eight of its top 10 scorers from 2015, including junior Cam Milligan (70), who ranks fourth all-time at UVM for most points in a single season, Ian MacKay (59), and senior James Barlow (46). MacKay topped the Catamounts in goals (41), and finished second in both points and assists (18), while piling up 13 multi-goal games. Milligan notched a career-best 10 points at UMass Lowell (4 goals, 6 assists) and scored three or more goals in six games.  
 
Classmate Luc LeBlanc led America East and ranked 14^th in the nation in ground balls per game (5.81). LeBlanc topped the Catamounts in total ground balls (93) and faceoff wins (232), while posting the fourth-best faceoff percentage in the league (.524).
 
AMERICA EAST PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
The Vermont Catamounts jumped three spots from last year's conference poll as they were picked to finish third in the 2016 America East Men's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Reigning America East Champion Albany was the favorite this season, ranking first in the poll with 35 points total and five first-place votes. Stony Brook claimed two first-place votes and finished second in the poll with 32 points. Vermont earned 25 points for third and Hartford (21) took fourth, while Binghamton (15), UMBC (12) and UMass Lowell (7) rounded out the poll.
 
2016 CAPTAINS
In the fall, head coach Ryan Curtis announced that junior Ian MacKay and seniors Nick Bartlett, Bryan Capone and Justin Rosenberg will captain the 2016 Catamounts.
 
MacKay was named to the 2015 America East All-Tournament and All-Conference First Team after his sophomore season. The 2014 conference Rookie of the Year ranked among the top-10 in the league in points (3.69) and goals (2.56) per game last season.
 
Barlett, a senior midfielder, has appeared in 35 contests at Vermont, collecting 41 total points. As a junior last season he registered at least one goal in seven matchups with a pair of goals against Albany and Binghamton.
 
Capone, a defenseman from Liverpool, New York, enters his second season as a team captain after being named to the 2015 America East All-Academic Team. As a Catamount he has earned 35 starts in 43 total appearances. During his junior campaign, Capone posted a career-high 23 ground balls and registered multiple ground balls in five games.
 
Named to the America East All-Conference Second Team in 2015, Rosenberg played 13 games in goal including seven starts as a junior. Rosenberg tallied 111 saves and piled up the third-best save percentage (.514) and fourth-best saves per game (8.54) mark in the league.
 
LAST TIME OUT VS. JACKSONVILLE
A trio of Catamounts posted three or more goals in Vermont's season opener, but a fourth quarter rally by Jacksonville lifted the Dolphins to a 17-16 win over UVM on Saturday (Feb. 6) afternoon at D.B. Milne Field. 
 
Freshman Dawes Milchling posted three goals and an assist in his UVM debut. Preseason All-American Ian MacKay recorded a game-best six points on four goals and a pair of assists, while three other Catamounts registered multi-point efforts including James Barlow (3g), co-captain Nick Bartlett (2g, 1ast) and rookie Braiden Davis (2g).

UVM and Jacksonville traded goals during the first half and saw five ties in the opening two quarters. Rookies Milchling and Davis netted a trio of unanswered goals in a two-minute span during the second quarter. Chase York responded with the final goal of the period for the Dolphins to knot the teams at nine apiece at the half.
 
Barlow netted his second goal of the game but Jacksonville took a two-goal lead (16-14) on four consecutive goals, strung over a three-minute span to open the final quarter. Evan Tyler netted the go-ahead goal at the 4:25 mark in the fourth period. With a minute remaining, MacKay notched his fourth goal in the Catamount-effort, but Jacksonville held on for the narrow victory on its home field.

Vermont connected on three extra man opportunities and out-shot Jacksonville 56-38. The Catamounts collected 52 ground balls, topping their previous season's high of 50 against UMass Lowell.
 
SCOUTING NJIT
The Highlanders are entering their second season as a Division I varsity program after finishing 0-12 in their inaugural campaign. 
 
NJIT Sophomore Joe Lomeli extended his scoring streak to 13 games in the Highlanders' 21-4 loss to Lehigh on Saturday (Feb. 6). Lomeli ended last season scoring in all 12 games with 19 total goals. NJIT (0-1) was led by freshman Aaron Forster, who tallied his first goal and assist of his collegiate career, and sophomore Ryan Bradway who also recorded a goal and an assist.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Tuesday will mark the second meeting between the Highlanders and Catamounts. Last March, Vermont topped NJIT 17-10 in Newark, New Jersey in the teams' first matchup.
 
UVM collected its first win of the season last year, improving to 1-4 overall, while NJIT dropped to 0-3 on the year. Eight Catamounts tallied at least one goal in the contest, with five players posting multi-goal efforts. Alex Stanko led the charge with a career-high four goals, and James Barlow and Cam Milligan added three scores each, as the three Catamounts combined for 12 points.
 
Sophomore Jon Kaplan, who made eight saves in the tilt, earned his first career win in just his second start for the Catamounts. Nick Marzullo posted a 16-save performance in the loss for NJIT.

NEXT UP
UVM travels to Worcestor, Massachusetts next weekend (Feb. 20) for a matchup against Holy Cross at 2:30 p.m., before returning to Virtue Field for its home opener against Providence College on Saturday, Feb. 27. Game time in Burlington against the Friars is set for 1 p.m. and AmericaEast.tv will have a free live stream of the contest.
 
Tickets can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com/tickets, in person at the Athletic Ticket Office located on the balcony in Patrick Gymnasium (Mon - Fri; 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.), over the phone during office hours at 802-656-4410.