BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Vermont Catamounts scored eight straight goals sandwiched around halftime to earn a 15-9 victory over visiting Connecticut in the season opener for both schools at Moulton Winder Field on Friday afternoon.

"Overall, I am very pleased with our performance today," said Vermont head coach Jen Johnson. "Today was a total team effort. (Sara) Buxton and (Kristen) Millar stood out in the box score in scoring, but several players helped contribute to this win in many other ways."

"I thought we came out with a strong effort in our first game of the year. We gained momentum as the game went on. The key to our eight straight goals was our ability to win loose balls, starting from the draw control. Once we had the ball we were able to control our possession time and our offensive was able to stretch their defense out, allowing us to find some holes."

Vermont scored the first two goals of the game and the Huskies rattled off three straight to take a 3-2 lead with 19:34 remaining on the clock in the first half. Vermont moved ahead again on back-to-back goals by Millar and Buxton to make the score 4-3 at the 16:08 mark.

The two teams traded goals over the next nine minutes and the score was knotted up 7-7 with 5:26 left in the half.

Buxton scored her third goal of the game with 1:25 left in the half and Ali Haigh added a goal with 33 seconds left to give the Catamounts a 9-7 lead at the half.

UVM opened the second half scoring six straight goals to break open the game and push out in front 15-7 with 7:49 remaining in the game. The Huskies closed out the scoring with the final two goals of the game for the final score.

Buxton lead all scorers with six goals and added two assists to lead the Catamounts. Millar, a junior, tallied four goals and four assists. She became UVM's all-time leader in assists with the four helpers, breaking the mark of 48 career assists held by Abigail Collins set in 1990. Millar's four draw controls moves her into fifth place among the all-time leaders in NCAA Division I women's lacrosse history (187 career). Meaghan Hanley (Fort Pierce, Fla.) made six saves to pick up the victory.

Whitney Michele led the Huskies with two goals and three assists, while Kim McGinty added a pair of goals. Jenna Moulton made 11 saves in net for Connecticut and was credited with a game-high seven ground balls.

Vermont improves to 1-0 on the year and UConn falls to 0-1. The Catamounts return to action on Tuesday (March 4) in the America East Conference opener at UMBC at 3:00pm in Baltimore, Md.

* * * *

BURLINGTON, Vt. (February 29, 2008) - Sarah Buxton scored six goals, including four in the first half, to lead Vermont over the University of Connecticut women's lacrosse team 15-9 Friday afternoon at Moulton Winder Field. UConn is now 7-5 in season openers as it starts the season 0-1, while the Catamounts are off to a 1-0 start.

Whitney Michele (East Rochester, N.Y.) and Kim McGinty (Huntington, N.Y.) led the Huskies with two goals apiece, but a 6-2 scoring advantage in the second half for the Catamounts led them to the win.

After falling down 2-0 over the first five minutes of play, the Huskies came back with three straight goals to earn their first lead of the game at the 19:34 mark. Back-and-forth played ensued, as the two teams tied up the game five times through the next 20-plus minutes of action in the first stanza. Buxton's goal with 1:25 remaining in the first half gave the Catamounts an 8-7 advantage and the lead they would not relinquish.

Vermont held a 9-7 halftime advantage and opened the second period with a 6-0 run to go up 15-7 with 7:49 to go. McGinty and Michele then each scored their second goals of the game to cut into the deficit, but both sides were shutdown over the last four minutes of action.

The Huskies return to action Tuesday, Mar. 4, with their home-opener against Quinnipiac at 3:00 p.m. in the George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex. The Bobcats are 1-0 on the season after defeating Iona, 16-9, on Feb. 27.

2008-02-29